Dead Debts (8)
by A.I.T. - Author In Training
Summary: Death has finally returned and is asking for Kairi's payment of a life for a life. Who will pay the price? To pay the debt, the group must travel into The Land of the Dead. If Kairi doesn't go, the debt will remain and she will meet her untimely end. But being back in The Land of the Dead brings a whole new set of issues. Everyone's lives will change, but will it be for the better?
1. Life As We Knew It

**1\. Life As We Knew It**

Tennis was officially Joe's least favourite sport. He'd never found it interesting. People smack a yellow ball back and forth while making uncomfortable and unnecessary grunts until someone misses and then it starts all over again.

But when hundreds of those balls were flying at him at eighty-five miles per hour, he found a whole new reason to dislike the sport.

Joe ducked as one flew over his head. He felt the top of his hair get pushed back from the wind. Another one came at him from the side and he was forced to slide back to avoid being hit. Chaos continued to fly around him.

He tried to catch his breath to no avail. He'd been at this for thirty minutes and still hadn't managed to complete this training exercise. Warmth surged through him, his magic ready to go. He pushed the warmth to his hands and grinned as large orbs of green energy flashed to life.

He threw his hands in front of him. The time magic shot forward and destroyed three oncoming tennis balls, but more took their place. Joe continued to jump and dodge, occasionally throwing in a few blasts of time energy, but they just kept coming.

"How many tennis balls can these stupid machines hold?" Joe yelped in pain as one smacked him hard in the shin. He cursed under his breath.

There were too many coming and they were too fast for him to shoot them all. How was he expected to do this?

"Sydney! You can turn these off at any time you know!" Joe nearly fell over as he tried to evade another cluster of tennis balls.

"You can do it, Houdini! Think outside the box!" Sydney didn't even bother to look up from the stack of papers in front of her and continued to absentmindedly tap away on the wireless remote controlling the tennis ball machines. She was sitting in a lounge chair comfortably and safely behind the three spinning and sliding death machines. With large sunglasses and her ruffled hair pulled back into a high ponytail, she appeared to be enjoying the sunny weather.

Joe was not. He was sweaty and wanted nothing more than to end this exercise and go home. He collected his thoughts, which was easier said than done giving his turbulent surroundings.

Think outside the box she had said. Well, blasting the balls away hadn't been working and he was getting far too exhausted to keep eluding them. He could stop time, but he doubted he'd be able to stay still long enough to freeze the whole area. He might be able to slow down individual balls but there were way too many coming at him.

A ball flew by and grazed his ear, speeding up Joe's thought process.

He could just destroy the three machines that were shooting the balls, but he highly doubted the place they were renting them from would appreciate that. The idea of speeding them up popped into his head. They would run out of ammo quicker, but they'd also be firing at Joe a lot quicker as well and he knew he definitely wouldn't be able to dodge them all then. So maybe it wasn't the machines he needed to speed up.

Joe arched his back and stood on his toes, almost falling over, as another ball flew by behind him. He swiftly swung his hand over his chest and placed it over his Warp Wizard mark.

" _Accelerare_!"

Everything immediately came to a crawl around Joe. It was as if time itself slowed down. Joe smirked, pleased with his new discovery. No, he was just moving faster than everything around him.

He sauntered off the court at a nice, leisurely pace, occasionally slipping through a few tennis ball clusters. Enjoying the calm and lack of being attacked by balls. Sound had slowed down too and despite being in the middle of the most populated city in the country, it was relatively quiet. The tennis balls casually floated by him, no longer a threat. He even pushed a few out of his way and they drifted off in another direction.

The air took on a green tint around him, a side effect of using his magic. The time energy in the air concentrated whenever he used his power, and his eyes would glow green, allowing him to see into the time plane easier.

He reached Sydney and snatched the remote away from her. Quickly, he shut it off and allowed himself to slow down back to normal speed. Time around him returned to how it was and the sound of New York City life filled his ears.

Sydney glanced up at him, a sly expression appearing. "I was wondering how long it would take you."

Joe frowned. "You've lost your coaching privileges."

"Have I?" Sydney chuckled, showing how little she believed him.

He sat down next to her, rubbing the sore spot on his shin. "I think I broke something," he groaned jokingly.

"Guess you'll just have to be faster next time" Sydney teased. "Impressive trick though. Try not to do it too often, however. It ages you." Sydney's lips turned down and pointed to Joe's face.

A rough, prickly sensation met his fingertips as he traced his jawline, even though he had just shaved his face this morning. "Good thing you _love_ facial hair so much."

Sydney scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please."

"Hey, you're the one who made me age myself. Trying to get me die early?"

"There were a hundred ways for you to finish this challenge. It's not my fault you chose the one that would age you. And you're not going to die any sooner than you're supposed to. Death is determined by date not age. Do you know how soon time travelers would die if their deaths were determined by the age of their bodies?" Sydney shook her head. "You've come so far and yet you have so much to learn."

"Well, to be fair, my teacher has been slacking lately." Joe leaned in and glanced down at the papers in her lap. He saw the words 'Ever After' written in bold in the center of the front page.

"Ah, ah, ah," Sydney tsked. "Don't even think about it."

Joe's shoulders sagged. "Oh, come on. You and Skyler have been working on this thing for over a year now. You have to let me see it at some point."

"Says who?"

Joe sighed. "Alright, fine. _So_ ," Joe put his arm carefully around Sydney's waist. "Now that we're done for the day, how about we head back home? We still have a while before Jade gets home from school and the twins can stay at grandma's for a little longer." He placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Sydney softly laughed. "We can go home, but we aren't done yet."

"We're not?"

"There's one more thing I want to show you today. Don't worry, it won't be as physical as this was."

"That's a shame, because I'm really in the mood to do something physical." Joe winked and started caressing her hip.

Sydney shook her head in amusement. "Too bad I'm not."

"Really? I bet I can make you. You're forgetting how well I know you. And I do mean every inch of you, like how some parts are a little more _sensitive_ than others." Joe hand slowly drifted up from her waist to a small spot just below her ear, sending a shiver down Sydney's spine.

She quickly stood up and grabbed her things. "I need to teach you this first. After that, maybe I'll let you have your reward for all the work you've done today."

Joe groaned. "But I've done so much today already."

"It'll take ten minutes. I promise you won't be disappointed."

* * *

"There has to be a way we can get this."

"It would work fine if you made it bigger."

"We tried that, remember? It just made it look... weird."

"It looks weird as is."

Sam groaned in frustration. "This isn't going to work, is it?"

Cade offered him a sympathetic grin. "Why must you always be so pessimistic? All we need to do is rework the formula a little. The gloves work, as long as the wearer is under seventy kilos. And once we finish the boots it'll help. Soon climbers everywhere will be using Gecko Gear to scale mountains and buildings."

Cade held up a pair of black gloves. The palm side was composed of microscopic squares coated in dry synthetic adhesion. The back side had their logo in white. Their logo was a cameo of a human head with an atom symbol inside. The head was surrounded by a circle modelled after Cade's charm bracelet and had several small scientific images, such as DNA strands and beakers, branching off of it.

Sam rubbed circles on his temples. "But the formula is so specific. If we alter it we could make them too adhesive and they'll stick to everything and never come off."

"There's a way. You know there is. We'll figure it out. You know that too." Cade brushed Sam's hair back and fixed his glasses.

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Where would I be without you?"

Cade flashed her teeth in a bright smile. "You don't need me with that brilliant brain of yours."

"I'll always need you." Sam's face softened and he curled a strand of Cade's ginger hair around his finger. "That reminds me, I have something for you."

Cade perked up, intrigued by Sam's words. It wasn't that Sam didn't give her gifts, but it was rare that he did it when it wasn't for a special occasion like her birthday or their anniversary. Today was neither.

"I really think you're going to like it." Sam dug around inside a bag that was sitting behind him. "I feel like I should have done this years ago."

That caught Cade's attention. She and Sam had been dating for eight years, since their senior year of high school. They had stayed together all throughout college, even helping each other graduate in three years, and had gone on to graduate school together and were now working on their doctorates side by side. Sam had been a part of Cade's life since they were ten and she had loved every minute of it.

All of their friends were married by now and they all had kids as well. It was only natural that Sam and Cade followed suit. They'd certainly been together long enough. It was the next step for their relationship. Cade had been waiting for this day for too long.

She tried to contain her excitement as Sam pulled out a small white box from his bag. She grasped the lab table behind her to support herself. She didn't even care that he was proposing in their lab. It wasn't the most romantic of places, but it was where they spent most of their time together.

Sam made his over to her, gift in hand. "Like I said, this seems long overdue." Sam opened the box to reveal his gift.

"A charm?" Cade's smile faltered.

"Yeah. It's the molecular structure for dopamine, one of the neurotransmitters involved with love." Sam held it up for her to see.

Cade knew what dopamine was. It, along with several other amines, was what caused people to fall in love. Dopamine was arguably the key neurotransmitter in the process. It was what made people seek out the ones they love and do anything in their power to keep them or win them over.

"You don't like it." Sam had hurt written all over his face, interpreting Cade's silence to mean disappointment.

"Of course I do!" Cade took the charm from Sam and examined it under the light. It was a small, silver charm. Like Sam had said, it was the molecular formula for dopamine. "I just wasn't expecting this."

Sam gave a sheepish shrug. "I wanted to surprise you with it. I know your charm bracelet was something you and your mom made together and you haven't added anything since she passed away, but I thought that maybe you could put this on it. If you don't want to, that's okay. I understand. It doubles as a necklace pendant."

Cade glanced at her charm bracelet. Not a day went by that she didn't think about her parents who had died when she was only seven. The charm bracelet was one of the few things she had left of them.

Cade took the charm out of the box and quickly added it to the collection on her wrist. The bracelet was there to remember those she loved. Sam deserved to be on there.

Sam grinned when he saw her put it on. "It looks beautiful. Just like you." He gave her a sweet peck on the cheek.

"I love you." Cade smiled at Sam.

"You too."

Sam's phone rang, interrupting their moment. He pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. "I need to take this. I'll be right back." He shuffled out of the lab, phone to his ear.

Cade let out a heavy sigh and thoughtlessly fiddled with her bracelet.

"Recent census records show that the average age for marriage in the US is twenty-seven for women. There is still time."

Cade pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thank you for reminding me, PAIA."

"I'm registering high levels of stress in you." PAIA flew in front of Cade. A blue light came out of it and scanned up and down Cade's body. "Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to get a massage or try meditating."

"I see your health care modification is working." Cade straightened and went over to her laptop. She had been so focused on Sam's latest invention, she hadn't had time to work on her research project. "Thanks for the suggestions PAIA, but I have a lot of work to do and don't have time for a massage or meditation."

"High stress levels can cause heart disease and asthma." PAIA followed Cade to her work station.

"I am aware of that, PAIA. My stress levels are not high enough to cause me any health problems. And they'd go away if Sam would just propose already," Cade grumbled the last part.

"According to recent studies, couples who marry later in life are less likely to get divorced," PAIA continued on.

Cade let out an irritated groan. "PAIA, enter sleep mode."

"Sleep mode activated." PAIA flew down to a nearby table as its screen shut down and its wings folded in.

PAIA wasn't capable of understanding human emotion. It couldn't be blamed for its sometimes irritating nature. But if an emotionless robot could pick up on Cade's desire to be married, why couldn't Sam?

Cade sighed and focused on her work. Sam would propose soon. He had to.

* * *

Fred may have been biased, but Jesse was the cutest baby he had ever seen. At seven months old, she had completely stolen Fred's heart. Everything about her, from her bubbly giggles to her large, grey-blue eyes, was perfect in Fred's eyes. Jesse had inherited Kairi's heart-shaped face and Fred loved how he could see a little bit of Kairi every time he looked at his daughter.

Having a child so soon into their marriage had been working out surprisingly well. Jesse was an easy baby who loved to sleep all the time, giving Fred and Kairi any newlywed time they needed. They had their moments, sure. What couple didn't? But for the most part, life was great for them. Fred would even go so far as to say it was perfect.

Jesse, currently bouncing on Fred's lap, reached for his hat and he let her grab it. She loved wearing it even though it was much too big for her little head. Fred thought it was good look for her nonetheless.

Jesse giggled as the hat slid down her forehead and obscured her eyes. Fred readjusted it back onto her head.

"We should buy you a hat that actually fits, don't you think?" Fred grinned at his daughter.

Jesse giggled in response, causing the hat to slip over her head again.

Fred heard the front door open and click shut. His grinned widened and he stood up with Jesse in his arms to great his wife as she came home.

"Mama!" Jesse squealed and reached her small arms out to Kairi.

Kairi beamed and grabbed Jesse out of Fred's arms. "I see you're wearing daddy's smelly old hat again."

"That's the smell of years of adventures." Fred winked at her.

Kairi laughed and rolled her eyes. She handed Jesse back to Fred and sat on the couch with a heavy sigh. She quickly kicked off her shoes and relaxed into the cushions.

"Long day?" Fred sat down next to her still holding onto Jesse. It was only two in the afternoon, but Kairi had been up since dawn in and out of meetings and shopping at fabric stores.

Kairi sat up. "It was weird."

"Weird how?" Fred asked, suddenly concerned. He leaned forward and studied Kairi's face. She appeared worried and she kept rubbing up and down her arms.

"I was cold all day. Even though it was over seventy degrees outside. And, this is going to sound silly, but I had this strange sensation that I was being watched." Kairi shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Fred put his arm around her shoulders, a small gesture of comfort. "I'm sure it's nothing, princess. Maybe all you need is a nice nap to shake it off. Then you'll be all rested up for your girl's night tonight."

Kairi nodded her agreement. "I might just do that." She gently kissed Jesse on the forehead, then Fred on the lips.

Kairi disappeared towards their bedroom and Fred returned to playing with Jesse. Yes, life was definitely great for them. Fred felt like nothing could ruin this moment of his life.

* * *

 **A/N - So there you have it! The first chapter of _Dead Debts_! Just a little set up to show where everyone is at in their relationships. (And for timeline reference, the trio is twenty-six.) I have a lot planned for this story and I'm very excited to write it. So hopefully, updates will come often, but at the same time I don't want to rush it. **

**Anyway, you know what to do! Review, favourite, and follow! Thanks for reading!**


	2. And For My Next Trick

**2\. And for My Next Trick…**

"Warp what?" Joe looked at his wife in confusion. Even after training him for almost two years, she still tossed random terms at him that threw him off. She had made him a short cheat sheet of basic terms and Latin commands, but it had been a while since Joe had looked at it. He thought he was far enough in his training to not need it anymore. Apparently, he was wrong.

"Warp illusions. I've told you about them before. It's time you learned how to do them." Sydney stared at Joe expectantly, as if this should all second-nature to him by now. To her credit, it should have been.

"Okay, but what am I doing exactly? And how do I do it?" Joe went ahead and let his magic build up and swirl around inside him, the warmth and feel of it familiar to him now.

"Think of a warp illusion like a half-warp. You can project the image of being in a certain time or place without actually being there. It takes more control to do a warp illusion than a full warp because you can't allow yourself to get sucked away." Sydney grabbed Joe's hands and led him into the center of her dance studio. "You do it just like you would a normal warp, but the moment you feel it start to pull you away, you need to pull back, then push it away, but not too far. Got it?"

"I think so." Joe understood what she was saying, but putting the words into practice wouldn't be so easy.

It took him months to learn how to warp, and he still messed that up. Sydney always brought a pocket watch along just in case something went wrong, and there had been plenty of times something went wrong. He'd tried to warp them on a romantic getaway to Hawaii once and ended up warping them two hundred feet above an active volcano. Joe could smell the putrid sulfur just thinking about it.

"This is like any other warp, the more you know about the place and the better you can visualize it, the easier it will be to get there."

Joe grinned, the perfect place coming into his mind almost instantaneously. Connecting to time and pulling it into him had become as easy as walking by this point.

Green fog slowly built up around the two of them, spinning in circles until they were completely covered. Joe felt a slight tugging, and began to pull the other way, just like Sydney had said to do. Time fought back, continuing to attempt to warp them away. Joe gave one final pull, then pushed away all the time energy that had gathered around them. He could still feel it surrounding them, but held it far enough away that it wouldn't take them anywhere. His body buzzed from the use of magic.

He was greeted with the salty scent of the sea and the sounds of waves crashing into the shore. White sand spread out before him leading to a crystal blue cove.

"Corfu?" Sydney chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"

Joe shrugged, throwing her a smirk. "What can I say? This place means a lot to me."

Sydney smiled and rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm impressed. You actually got it on your first try."

"I am a wizard at this stuff, you know," Joe teased, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Now, about that reward..."

"You heard about the part where we're not actually here, right? It may look like Corfu, but we're still in the third floor of our house." Sydney kicked her foot in the sand. Instead of spraying everywhere like Joe expected, her foot simply went right through it. "See? We can see, smell, and hear everything, but we can't feel any of it. It's like a hologram."

"Oh." Joe frowned and studied their surroundings more intently. Everything seemed real, but Sydney had just proved that it wasn't. "Then why do I need to be able to do this? It doesn't seem very useful."

"We really need to work on this creative thinking of yours." Sydney shook her head. "Just because you know it isn't real, doesn't mean your opponent will. Put yourself in an environment with lots of trees, knowing you can walk right through them, and you can make the perfect getaway, leaving anyone else trapped in an illusionary jungle."

Joe tilted his head, picturing himself in a situation where he would need to run away from an enemy like that. When they had first learned of Joe's Warp Wizard status, Sydney had said they had a lot of enemies besides the time gods. So far, they hadn't run into any, but it's not like Joe was out there traipsing around with his Warp Wizard mark exposed to the world.

"Jade will be home soon. Care to get rid of all this?" Sydney gestured around the room. "Or are you planning on leaving my studio this way?"

Joe laughed and said sarcastically, "I like it better this way actually. I'm getting a much better feng shui vibe. Won't it go away on its own anyway?"

"In a few hours, but I'd prefer for it to be back to normal before I head out tonight." Sydney folded her arms. "Just push the time energy farther out and it will scatter and fade away."

"Head out?" Joe asked. He did as he was instructed to do and the room faded back to normal. "Oh yeah, it's the first Friday of the month. I almost forgot."

The first Friday of every month the girls, meaning Sydney, Kairi, Cade, and sometimes Anna, went out and had a girls' night. The boys did the same thing the next Friday night. They had agreed to alternate nights so that someone was always home to watch their kids.

Joe and Fred had come up with the idea a while back. Since everyone's lives were changing so much, getting married, having kids, they needed an excuse to get together every so often so that they wouldn't lose their long-standing friendship. It had worked so far and every night turned into a fun time.

Sydney nodded and headed downstairs to greet Jade as she got off the school bus. Jade would be finishing kindergarten this month and starting first grade in the fall. She loved school and couldn't wait to tell Joe and Sydney about everything she learned that day. Her favourite part was getting new books to bring home to practice her reading skills, which were very impressive for her age. Not surprising considering how often she had her parents read to her.

"After Jade gets home, can you drive over to your mom's to pick up the twins?" Sydney glanced at Joe over her shoulder and continued to head towards the front door. "I'm going to need to start getting ready for tonight and won't have time to drive over and do it myself."

"Sure. No problem." Joe grinned at her even though she couldn't see it. "Have fun tonight. Be safe."

"Safe?" Sydney turned to look at her husband, a bemused glint in her eye. She kissed him on the cheek and chuckled softly at him. "What do you think is going to happen? It'll be like any other girls' night out."

"I know," Joe gave her another kiss, this time on the mouth, "but you can never be too careful."

* * *

Kairi hurriedly walked down Tenth Avenue, which was no easy task in her white, strappy wedges. She had overslept and was now late to meet Cade and Sydney at a local bar for their girls' night out. She was only about twenty minutes late, but Kairi still felt the need to rush. She could have taken a cab, but the bar was close enough that it wouldn't take that long to walk there at the speed she was going.

She mentally prepared her apology to her friends for being late on their one night out. She'd make it up to them by buying them each one of their favourite cocktails.

She would have left her house on time, but just as she was about to leave, she had to help Fred put Jesse down for the night. Her daughter had been uncharacteristically fussy and was refusing to go to sleep. Kairi tried to soothe her by holding and cuddling Jesse in her arms, but it only made Jesse even more unsettled. She even tried to push away from her. Fred took hold of Jesse and she'd eventually calmed down enough to go to bed, but Kairi couldn't help but think how odd the whole situation was. Fred had suggested she was just tired and cranky and that this behavior was normal. But Kairi knew her baby better than anyone else, and her baby was definitely acting weird, not normal. She had never tried to get away from Kairi so desperately like that before.

The nap had helped to shake off her weird feeling from earlier in the day, but the moment she stepped outside to walk to the nearby bar, it all came flooding back. Kairi couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong with her. Despite the warm night air, chills ran up and down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up.

She wrapped her pink jacket tighter around herself, but it wasn't doing much good. Kairi hadn't felt this type of persistent coldness since she was dead. She had gotten used to the chill after about a year or two of not being alive. But now that she was alive again, her body had gotten used to the comforting feeling a warmth and blood flowing through her veins. At the time, she hadn't realized how much she missed it, the feeling of being alive. It was a pleasurable feeling that she would never take for granted again.

And still, she had that feeling of being watched, like someone was consistently following closely behind her. But every time Kairi turned around, no one was there. She scanned the whole area around her and saw nothing. The dark feeling gnawed at the back of her mind. It only added to her unease and urged her to the bar that much quicker.

She shook her head to clear thoughts and pushed on to the meeting place. She'd be there soon enough. It was only two blocks away. She could see the vibrant neon sign from here. If she listened closely enough, she'd hear the sound of laughter and all the good times going on inside. She just needed to have a few drinks, chat with her girl friends, and she'd get over whatever this haunting feeling was. Kairi forced herself to believe that.

A black shadow dashed across her peripheral vision, interrupting Kairi's thoughts. If she had blinked, she would have missed it. Kairi froze, a sudden breeze flowing across the back of her neck. She was standing in front of an ally. All the lights had burnt out and she couldn't see farther than ten feet in, but at first glance, it appeared to be deserted. She peered closer. She had definitely just seen something move in there, but had no idea what it was.

Just when she was beginning to think it was only a feral cat and maybe she was starting to go insane, she saw it. A pair of wide, glowing red eyes staring directly at her from the back of the ally, watching her very carefully. Even from here, Kairi could see an amused look in the eyes as if it knew exactly what would happen next. And no matter what Kairi did, it would always be a step ahead of her.

Kairi knew only a select few people with eyes like that. People she knew without a doubt that she did not want to see.

Kairi felt her heart stop, her chest clenched, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe. "Oh no," she said breathlessly.

She ran to the bar, refusing to look behind her.

* * *

 **A/N - Don't forget to review and favourite! Please help support this story!**


	3. The Debt

**3\. The Debt**

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad." Sydney took a sip of the colourful cocktail sitting in front of her. She spoke loudly to be heard over the commotion going on in the bar. Even though they were sitting in a corner booth away from the main floor, the resounding noise still reached them. "I mean, Sam can't be that dense. The guy's a certified genius."

"Apparently not when it comes to love. His observation skills could use some improvement." Cade let out a morose groan. "You know he's never even told me he loves me?"

Sydney thought for a moment. "I've heard you two say it before."

"No, you hear me say 'I love you' and him say 'you too'." Cade sighed and took several generous gulps of her drink. "I don't even know if he knows how to say it. I feel like I'm dating a yobbo."

Sydney offered her friend a sympathetic pat on the back. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually. But you know you could always propose to him. This is the twenty-first century, women can do that now."

Cade rolled her eyes. "I know that, but he not proposing is only part of the problem." Cade finished her drink in two sips and slid out of the booth to grab another one from the bar. "Need a refill?"

Sydney shook her head. "I'm good. I'm about to drink Kairi's that we ordered for her. Where is she anyway?"

Cade glanced at the fruity cocktail that had remained untouched the entire night. "I have no idea. She's usually here before any of us."

"I guess I should send her a text." Sydney pulled out her phone.

As if on cue, Kairi chose that moment to enter the bar. She quickly spotted Sydney and Cade and bolted over to them. She kept glancing over her shoulder, like she was expecting someone to be following her. She reached her friends and didn't even try to contain her panic.

Sydney and Cade smiled with relief as Kairi swiftly made her way over to them. "There you are. Where have you-"

"We need to leave. Now." Kairi tried to catch her breath, but her panicked state prevented her from taking long, deep breaths.

"Why? You just got here. We bought you a drink." Sydney and Cade nodded to the drink still resting on the table. "What happened to you? You look like just finished a marathon."

Kairi snatched the drink and downed it in three seconds. "Oh, this is bad. Really bad."

"Well, it wouldn't be so bad if you had showed up on time."

"No, not the drink." Kairi adamantly shook her head.

"Than what's the matter? Calm down and take a seat. Tell us what's going on."

"We don't have time for that. They're going to get me!" Kairi grabbed onto her friends' arms and attempted to pull them out of the building. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to achieve her task.

"Who? Kairi, what is going on?" Together, Sydney and Cade grasped onto Kairi and pulled her down into the booth.

"They've come for me." Kairi continued to stare at the door and any other point of entry she could find, as if a SWAT team was going to burst in at any moment.

"Who are they?"

"The reapers." Kairi tried to leave the table again, but she was immediately pulled back down.

"What are reapers?" Cade asked.

"Kairi, why would reapers be looking for you?" Sydney stared at Kairi. She watched her with caution, her arm slightly stretched across the table, like she wanted to comfort her, but if she did, the reapers would be after her too. She glanced around the bar to make sure no one could hear them. They were pretty far from the main crowd and everyone else was making plenty of noise, so it was a safe bet that their conversation would go unheard.

"The same reason reapers go after anyone!" Kairi couldn't sit still, every inch of her was vibrating, desperate to run away. She resembled a cornered animal.

"What are reapers?" Cade repeated, still at a loss as to what was going on.

"You don't know that," Sydney went on. "Maybe it's just one of your old friends wanting to say hello."

"Why would they have waited sixteen years to do it?" Kairi buried her face in her hands. "I'm not ready to die again. Fred would be heartbroken. And Jesse!" Kairi's head snapped up. "I can't leave Jesse behind!"

"Would someone please tell me what reapers are?" Cade interjected. She looked back and forth between the two girls. "And why do you think you're going to die?"

Kairi blinked, as if she was more confused than Cade was. "Reapers are the people who come to take away your soul when you die," she spoke as if it was an obvious fact everyone knew.

"What?" Cade fell back. "Kairi, you're not making any sense."

"But it's true!" Kairi nodded her head for emphasis. "Remember when I told you that the reason I knew your parents was because when they had died, I saw their souls in the Land of the Dead?"

Cade nervously stared at Kairi. "Yes... Wait, were you telling the truth? I thought you just made all that up! That's not possible." Cade quickly back peddled away from Kairi. "You actually died!?"

"And I'm going to again if we don't get away from the reaper that's been following me all day!"

"Kairi, you don't know that they're after you. It may not have been a reaper at all."

"No, no, no. I saw the eyes. I'd know those eyes anywhere."

"I used to be roommates with a zombie..." Cade mumbled, not able to process this new information. Her eyes were wide and unfocused.

"But why would they follow you around all day?" Sydney thought out loud. "Don't they usually wait until the moment of death to show up? After all, they're job is to ferry around souls, not kill people to get them."

Kairi paused, taking in Sydney's words. Her body visibly relaxed. The corner of her mouth twitched, like that small amount of logic was enough to give her hope. "I guess you're right. But why would they be following me all day then?"

"Why don't we go outside and ask them? It's the easiest way to find out." Sydney stood up, ready to go.

Kairi resumed her earlier panicking. "No! We can't do that!"

"And why not?" Sydney crossed her arms. "If you really think they've been stalking you all day, then we need to find out why."

"But what if we're wrong and they really are here to take my soul?"

"I won't let them." Sydney held out her hand for Kairi to take. "I'm going out there, whether or not you join me is up to you."

Kairi took Sydney's hand and reluctantly stood up. Before leaving, she looked back at Cade. "Cade? Are you going to stay here?"

"I think Cade's had enough of a shock for now," Sydney said when Cade didn't answer. "Let her digest all this knowledge before we drag her out to see it firsthand." Sydney gently pulled Kairi through the crowd and out of the bar.

The night air was warm and pleasant, but Sydney noticed how Kairi immediately began to shiver the moment they exited the building. "Are you sure this is a reaper we're looking for? Not some other undead thing?"

Kairi nodded and followed Sydney around a corner into a side alley. "What else would it be?"

Sydney shrugged. "This is your area of expertise, not mine. I just didn't think reapers made others cold."

"Well, they usually don't but-"

"But I do." A figure revealed themselves, stepping forward from the shadows. The newcomer was a short boy, barely higher than four feet, and had a youthful but pale looking face covered with freckles. His hair was pitch black with streaks of white thrown in here and there. He stared at Kairi and Sydney with glowing red eyes that held a gleam of contempt that was matched by the smirk he wore on his mouth.

"Death." Kairi's already pale skin, became even paler. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to visit my two favourite people, the traitor and the Shadow's favourite puppet. How are you doing by the way?" Death's smile was cold and seemed to be mocking them.

"Great!" Kairi spoke quickly before Sydney did or said something they would both regret. The anger that had begun to radiate off of her the moment Death stepped into view was intense, giving Kairi the urge to back away from her.

 _Sydney's not Shadowed anymore_ , Kairi mentally reminded herself. _She won't do anything that menacing_. But the ominous, malicious feeling coming from Sydney caused Kairi to doubt her own thoughts.

"Good, good." Death nodded as if this was exactly what he expected to hear. "Then I assume you're ready to pay your debt?"

"Debt?" Kairi stilled. Her mind stretched back sixteen years, to the moment Death brought her back to life. The memory replayed itself right before her very eyes.

 _Death pushed Sydney off of him and glared at Kairi. "You…"_

 _Kairi shook with fear and backed away._

 _"You're supposed to be my loyal servant! Owe me for life! And yet, when I get attacked, you do nothing! Absolutely nothing!" He tried to stand, but fell on his face. Whatever Sydney had hit him with was powerful._

 _"I'm sorry! I'll do better next time! I promise!" Kairi fumbled backwards, desperate to get away. "Just don't hurt me! Please!"_

 _"Hurt you?" Death lifted his head. "You're lucky I don't torture you for eternity!" He shakily sat up. "I'm done. I have no more use for you." He looked at her and cocked his head to the right._

 _A sharp pain shot threw Kairi's skull. She fell to her knees and screamed. Her eyes burned. Her heart pounded. Her head exploded._

 _"Now_ you _have a debt to pay." Death fell back and drifted off into nothing._

"Your time is up, Kairi. And there's a debt still to be paid," the present-day Death spoke.

"No," Kairi breathed.

Death laughed, amused by Kairi's response. "You didn't think I'd forget, did you? I always remember the deals I make. Concerning the payment," he turned to Sydney with a vindictive sneer, his cool composer vanishing, "I can take the ex-goddess here right now and this can all be over with."

"Take one step and watch what happens." Sydney stepped forward, matching Death's sneer with one of her own.

"What will you do exactly? You have no powers and it's been years since you've been in any sort of fight. You can do nothing to me."

"I can still find ways to make you scream."

"Sydney is not going to be my payment." Kairi forced herself in between them.

Death's eyes flicked to Kairi. "Oh? You have someone else in mind? I hear you're married now. Perhaps your husband? Or maybe that daughter of yours."

"No!" Kairi's hands balled up into fists. "Not them. Why does it have to be someone I know? You normally take a random person. I assumed you took care of this years ago."

"Unfortunately Kairi, you're situation is not normal. You betrayed me and therefore your payment is also your punishment," Death growled. "Seeing as I'm feeling generous tonight, I'll offer you this: one week from today I will be waiting for you in the Land of the Dead, specifically purgatory. I expect you to be there along with whomever you have chosen to be your sacrifice. If you do not show up, your life will be ended. Do I make myself clear?"

Kairi silently nodded. Hoping Sydney wouldn't do anything rash, Kairi slowly backed away to stand next to Sydney again.

"Excellent. I will see you in one week." Death snapped his fingers, causing a pillar of darkness to shoot out of the ground behind him. He stepped inside and disappeared along with the dark portal. His final words echoed through the night, "Don't forget."

"What the bloody hell was that?"

Kairi jumped and spun around. "Cade! What are you doing out here?"

"You two were gone a while. I thought I should check on you." Cade tentatively took a step forward into the alley. "What did I just see?"

"Death. In all his cruel and heartless glory." Sydney folded her arms with a huff. "And now he's decided to give Kairi the job of selecting someone to kill."

"That was Death?" Cade stared at the spot where Death had just vanished in front of them. "Isn't he supposed to be, you know, scary? He just looked like some cute little kid."

Kairi winced, remembering where talking about Death like that got them last time. "I wouldn't call him that if I were you."

Sydney sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "So what are we going to do about this? Obviously, you're not going to lead anyone to their death. So we have a week to figure out an alternative."

"And to get to purgatory. Who knows how long that could take?" Kairi worriedly wrung her hands. "We're going to have to leave immediately."

"Purgatory?" Cade started. She looked to her friends for help. "I'm sorry. I still have no idea what's going on."

"It's a little complicated. It would take a while to explain," Kairi bit her lip.

"How are we even supposed to get into the Land of the Dead?" Sydney shook her head. "Neither of us have the abilities to warp us there anymore."

"There are a few entrances mortals can access. Not easily, but still possible nonetheless," Kairi explained.

"Where's the closest one?"

"The Bermuda Triangle."

"Of course it is. Couldn't be nice, sunny Tahiti or sweet, relaxing Napa Valley? No, it had to be the dangerous, deadly Bermuda Triangle," Sydney grumbled.

"Why do you think it's so dangerous and deadly?"

"Hold on. Why do we have to go to the Bermuda Triangle?" Cade asked, still confused about the current situation.

"To go to the Land of the Dead so that we can get to purgatory and pay my debt." Kairi offered Cade a sympathetic smile. "I told you it would take a while to explain it all."

"Except that we're not actually going to be paying your debt. There's no way we can just drag someone along to sacrifice them." Sydney pulled out her phone. "You and I will just have to book a flight to Bermuda and figure something out along the way."

"But you and I can't just walk around the Land of the Dead by ourselves," Kairi countered. "Death will no doubt be watching us. He knows I won't make you pay the debt and he said to bring my sacrifice with me."

"He doesn't know who I am," Cade surprisingly spoke up. "If I went with you, he'd assume I was the payment. Right?"

"I suppose..." Kairi said thoughtfully. "But I don't think you want to go to the Land of the Dead, Cade. It's not exactly a pleasant place."

"How bad can it be?" Cade put her hands on her hips. "I can handle it. Besides, who else would you take?"

"She's got a point, Kairi," Sydney conceded. "Cade's tough. If there was ever a mortal who could handle the Land of the Dead, it'd be Cade. And we do need a decoy to go with us. We can keep her safe."

"So it's settled then." Cade attempted a smile. "We're taking a girls' trip to Bermuda."

"It's not all settled. We have to tell the guys." Kairi looked to Sydney. "But we shouldn't tell them the truth, should we?"

"Why? Do you really think they'd try to stop us?" Cade tilted her head.

"No," Sydney shook her head. "They'd try to go with us. We can't put them in that situation." Her voice took on a darker tone, "Death has a habit of taking loved ones away and we can't risk that happening."

"So we have to lie to them." Kairi looked uncomfortable at the thought. "I'd hate to do that to Fred. I never liked lying, even if it is for the better."

"Would you rather have Death take him as your payment?"

"Of course not," Kairi immediately responded.

"Lying it is then," Sydney concluded. "We just tell them that we're taking a sudden vacation together to Bermuda. I'll book the flight. Be ready to leave tomorrow."

Kairi and Cade nodded and the girls made their way home, mentally preparing themselves for the adventure ahead.

* * *

 **A/N -** **So it's off to Bermuda for the girls. I threw in that flashback to give you guys a recap of why this is all happening. _Crossing Worlds_ was posted almost five years ago (which makes me feel old) and I figured you may need a refresher just in case. Anyway, I am very excited to get back into the Land of the Dead and that area of knowledge in general. You'll see some familiar places and some new worlds. I plan on expanding on the world I previously created and I am looking forward to what I have coming up. Hopefully you are too!**

 **This story actually got a lot of visitors on it's first chapter and that makes me pretty happy. I'd love it if more of you gave some helpful reviews though. As always, don't forget to review, favourite, and follow! Even tell your friends about it. ;)**


	4. Lies and Love

**4\. Lies and Love**

Joe loved watching Sydney sing to the kids. Jade had always enjoyed clapping along to the bouncy tunes. Half of the time, it was the only way they could get Lexi down for her nap. Like now for instance. Lexi didn't like taking naps, but if Sydney sang a soft song or lullaby on the guitar or ukulele, the only two instruments she could masterfully play, to her, Lexi would be asleep in minutes.

Joe caught her finishing a song for Lexi in Lexi's bedroom. He quietly leaned against the door frame and listened to her lilting soprano voice with a smile on his face. He could never get tired of the melodic sound of her voice.

 _"Someday I'll wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where trouble melts like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me._

 _"Oh, somewhere over the rainbow way up high, and the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I? I?"_

Sydney plucked out the last few chords on her ukulele and leaned over to give Lexi a kiss on her forehead.

Joe clapped softly so he wouldn't wake Lexi. "Encore, please."

Sydney chuckled and rolled her eyes, setting the instrument down. "I'm just saying goodbye."

"Don't I get a special goodbye?" Joe pouted and put his arm over her shoulder as they silently walked out of Lexi's bedroom together. "After all, you did decide to spontaneously abandon me and the kids for a week."

"You got your goodbye already," Sydney teased.

"Oh, I remember. Last night." Joe winked at her. He spoke in a light, teasing tone, "and when you woke me up in the middle of the night, and this morning, and about twenty minutes ago. What's the matter? Think your plane is going to go down or something?"

"You never know. And maybe I was just covering for the week I won't be around," Sydney responded with ease, continuing their playful conversation.

Sydney had of course not told Joe the truth about their trip or the real reason why she was trying to make everyone's goodbyes memorable. In truth, she was worried about going back in to the Land of the Dead. She hadn't been there since she was Shadowed and Death had taken Cody from her. Sydney hadn't had any dark urges or desires in years, but she had a feeling walking back in to the Land of the Dead would change that. Who knew what could happen to her. Who knew if she'd even make it back home.

"Don't act like you didn't do it for enjoyment too. I know you liked it." Joe laughed and gave her a smug grin. "I have the bite marks to prove it."

Sydney glimpsed at Joe's shoulder where there were several small indentations. She blushed and looked away. "Sorry. I just didn't want to the kids to hear us."

"I'm not complaining." Joe stopped them at the foot of the stairs and wiggled his eyebrows seductively. "But if you want to apologize for it, we have enough time for another 'goodbye' before you leave."

"As nice as that sounds, I don't think so. I need to get going." Sydney turned to give him a kiss before heading down stairs. "Take care of my babies while I'm gone."

"Take the kids skydiving, got it," Joe said sarcastically.

Sydney covered her mouth to hide her smile. "And don't go crazy with your magic. The last thing we need is for you get stuck in the past. You've come a long way, but I wouldn't warp without me there as backup yet."

"Well there goes my plans for the week." Joe laughed when Sydney put her hands on her hip and gave him a disappointed frown. "Relax. The kids and I will be fine while you're gone. And for the record, you've come a long way too."

"What do you mean?"

"About me being a Warp Wizard. I practically had to force you to start training me in the first and that was after you nearly killed me. Not to mention those few months where I was seriously concerned you were going to divorce me and run away."

"Even if I tried to run, my heart wouldn't let me get far." Sydney smiled at him. "Unfortunately, that's not the case today. I need to leave now."

"Okay." Joe gave her a quick kiss. "See you in a week."

* * *

"You sure I can't go too?" Fred smiled at Kairi.

Kairi laughed and shook her head. "I told you, it's a girls' getaway. No boys allowed. Sorry, but you know I'll miss you and think of you and Jesse every day while I'm gone."

"Fair enough." Fred continued to grin at Kairi. "I'll miss you too. Though I do have to admit this whole random vacation thing is a little weird."

Kairi shrugged. "We just decided to extend our girls' night out into a girls' vacation. We could all use a nice break."

Kairi hoped she didn't sound as nervous as she felt. She hated lying to people, especially Fred. It made her feel so guilty, but Fred couldn't know the truth about their trip. She couldn't risk Death taking Fred as her payment for the debt. He had to stay behind and watch Jesse.

"It's cool. I'll just have a guys' week with Joe and Sam. Jesse's due for a play date with Lexi and Riley anyway." Fred gave Kairi a small kiss. "You have fun, okay?"

"Of course." Kairi giggled. "It's only a week. I'll be back before you know it."

She moved past Fred into Jesse's room, hoping she would get a different reaction from her daughter than she did last night. Jesse was laying in her crib, staring wide eyed at the mobile spinning above her. The mobile was a soft pink colour and was decorated with silver and gold stars that reflected light onto the walls.

Kairi smiled down on her daughter. She resisted the urge to pick her up. She didn't want a repeat of last night. Even now, just standing over her, Jesse seemed wary of her. Kairi had been thinking a lot about it and she had come to the conclusion that Jesse could sense that Kairi was marked by Death, literally. She hoped that once this whole debt thing was resolved, Jesse would return to being her happy, loving little girl. Kairi wouldn't be able to stand it if she would never be able to hold Jesse again.

"You be good for daddy while I'm gone," Kairi said to her daughter. "I want a perfect report when I get back."

"Kairi, you ready to go?" Kairi recognized Sydney's voice coming from the entryway. She hadn't realize what time it was. She was hoping for a few more minutes with her family. They were going into this blind and with no plan, and if they didn't figure something out before the week was up, Kairi wouldn't be returning home.

With one last look at her daughter, Kairi left the room and headed out to wipe away her debt.

* * *

"I'm just saying, this whole impromptu vacation thing seems odd. It seems like something Sydney and Kairi would do, but not you." Sam studied his girlfriend curiously.

"Why not? I like vacations." Cade avoided eye contact. Sam was asking too many questions about the trip and Cade wanted to just leave already.

"Yeah, but your in the middle of a research project. Doesn't exactly seem like a good time to go to Bermuda."

"Maybe we're going to be looking into the Bermuda Triangle while we're there. There's definitely plenty of mysteries surrounding it." Cade shrugged. She probably shouldn't have mentioned the Bermuda Triangle, but Sam kept pursuing answers from her. "Who knows what type of discoveries we'll make."

"You and I both know all that is explainable by science." Sam frowned. "Why are you really going?"

"It's just a vacation." Cade glanced at the clock. Sydney and Kairi weren't supposed to be here to pick her up for another ten minutes.

"Are you sure? What aren't you telling me?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Cade looked to the front door, hoping her friends would arrive soon.

"Try me," Sam said. He was staring at Cade expectantly, his brown eyes magnified by his large glasses.

Cade groaned. Why did Sam care so much if she went on a short vacation? Granted, it wasn't actually a vacation, but how would he know that.

"Cade..." Sam looked at her with a worried expression.

"There's an old friend of Kairi's down there that we're going to see." It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the full truth either.

"That's it? There's more. I know there is." Sam crossed his arms.

How could Sam be so perceptive about this, but have no idea Cade was unhappy with him and their relationship? It made no sense to Cade and frustrated her to no end.

"We're going to the Land of the Dead," Cade spat out angrily. "Apparently when Kairi said she had died, she was telling the truth. Now she has some sort of debt to settle with Death and we have to go take care of it."

Sam blinked. "What?"

"Told you you wouldn't believe me."

"Maybe you need to stay home and rest." Sam reached out and tentatively touched her shoulder. "Did you hit your head?"

"No!" Cade shook Sam's hand off. "I wasn't even supposed to tell you that much!"

The doorbell rang and Cade had never felt so relieved in her life. "I have to go. I'll be back in a week." Cade turned to leave, but paused and glanced over her shoulder at Sam. "I love you."

"You too."

Cade clenched her teeth. "Sure you do," she mumbled under her breath.

* * *

The girls stared down at a large map of the Bermuda Triangle. It was from a tourist shop and was marked with the locations of famous shipwrecks and plane crashes. Distracting, but it served its purpose nonetheless.

They had wasted no time. The moment they got off the plane, they started planning the momentous task that laid before them. They were gathered on a pink sandy beach on the coast of Hamilton, Bermuda. Tourists milled about all around them, enjoying the sun and perusing the various shops and eateries. Bermuda was a calm place, somewhat surprising given the reputation of the waters surrounding it.

"So what are we looking for, Kairi?" Sydney studied the map. "I don't see 'entrance to the Land of the Dead' on here."

"The portal is directly in the middle." Kairi pointed to the spot. It was marked with more crashes than any other location on the map. "You won't be able to miss it."

"In the middle?" Cade paused and mentally scaled the distance. "We'd have to rent a boat, and there's no way we could get there before nightfall."

"As much as I would like to have a nice vacation, we can't afford to wait around here." Sydney sighed. "Even if we got there tonight, we'd only have six days left before the deadline."

"The portal's only open at night anyway," Kairi said. "I think I saw a boat rental place at the other end of the beach. I hope they don't mind if we don't give it back to them."

Sydney and Cade shared a concerned look. "Kairi... what exactly is this portal like?"

"Well..." Kairi bit her lip and stared at the ground. "It's basically a giant hole."

"A hole? In the middle of the ocean?"

"You'll see what I mean," Kairi explained. "Be prepared to get wet."

"How are we supposed to get back then?" Cade looked to the other girls for an explanation.

Now it was Kairi and Sydney's turn to exchange concerned glances. "We pray that Death is feeling charitable by the end of all this and transports us back home."

Cade blinked. "Is that really the only way?"

"Pretty much."

"And if he isn't feeling charitable?" Cade folded her arms over her chest.

"This trip will last a lot longer than a week."

The girls looked down the beach and spotted the boat rental place. They grabbed their things and started towards it.

"Hope you brought something to entertain yourself with girls. This is going to be a long boat ride."

* * *

 **A/N - Last set-up chapter before the action begins, I promise! And don't worry, this isn't going to be an OC story, the boys will be making their way in soon enough. Don't forget to review, favourite, and follow!**


	5. Rescue Mission

**5\. Rescue Mission**

"You have to admit this whole vacation thing is a little weird," Fred took a sip of the beer sitting before him. "Our girls may like to have fun, but going away spontaneously isn't like them."

"Especially for Sydney and Kairi," Joe added thoughtfully. "I'm surprised they would leave the kids behind like that."

"And Cade would never leave in the middle of a research project. Especially this one." Sam drummed his fingers on the counter.

"What's the nerd working on this time?" Fred teased.

"Cade's not a nerd," Sam defended.

"Sorry. What's the _nerdette_ working on this time?"

Sam sighed with a shake of his head. "She got commissioned to do Holocene research analyzing detrimental human interaction with the modern environment and how it relates to the natural ecology and ecosystems of the world. You see, species are deteriorating at a rate that's over one hundred percent higher than in the past century."

"In English?"

Sam frowned. "Earth is in the middle of its sixth mass extinction, meaning we will lose seventy-five percent of the Earth's species in a very short time. Cade is part of the team that is doing research to attempt to stop it or at least slow it down to learn enough about it to prevent future scenarios from happening."

"Fascinating," Fred said sarcastically. "At least we get some guy time out of all this."

The men had decided to get together at Joe's house for the night since the girls were out of town. Fred had brought Jesse over and she was currently watching the twins and Jade finger paint on the kitchen floor. The seven-month-old was too young to have the proper motor skills to join in, but she was plenty happy just watching the others.

"It's not really guy time when we have to watch the kids at the same time." Joe rolled his eyes and kept a careful watch on his kids. Joe jumped and ran over to Riley. "Jade, the paint goes on the paper, not your brother's face."

Riley had two large red circles painted on his cheeks and smears of blue around his eyes. He whined and clung to his father for help, wiping paint onto Joe's shirt in the process.

"We were just trying to make him look pretty," Jade said with a pout. "So we gave him pretty make-up like what mom wears."

Beside her, Lexi silently bobbed her head in agreement.

Joe shook his head, but couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face. "Your brother doesn't need to look pretty and for the record, your mom doesn't wear this much make-up."

Joe grabbed his phone and quickly took a picture of Riley to send to Sydney. He immediately started to wash Riley's face when he was done.

"Where is mom?" Jade stopped her pouting and looked to her dad for an explanation.

"According to Cade, in the Land of the Dead," Sam grumbled.

Joe almost dropped Riley, spinning around to stare at Sam in shock. Fred matched Joe's surprise, jerking and hitting his knees under the counter in the process.

"What?!" They both yelled at the same time.

Sam recoiled in fear. "Ye- yeah... I didn't believe Cade would just leave in the middle of a research project for no reason. I asked her why she was really going on this trip and that's what she told me."

Joe sat Riley back down with the other children, forgetting to finish cleaning off his face, much to Riley's dismay. The girls happily returned to 'beautifying' their brother. Joe went back to Sam and Fred at the counter and heavily sat down.

"What do you mean they're in the Land of the Dead?"

Sam glanced back and forth between his two best friends. "You two are way too worked up about this. It was just some crazy story she made up because I kept pestering her."

Fred and Joe looked at each other, clearly not believing Sam. "Sam... What exactly did Cade say to you?"

"Something about Kairi having died but brought back to life and having a debt to settle with Death. So they were going to the Land of the Dead."

Fred and Joe simultaneously fell back in their seats.

"What?" Sam tilted his head at them. "You don't actually believe her, do you?"

"It would explain the impromptu getaway."

"And of course they wouldn't tell us the truth."

Sam gave them a look of bewilderment. "You guys are crazy! There's no place called the Land of the Dead. Kairi never died. Fred, don't you think you would know that about your wife?"

"I _do_ know that about my wife. She told me right after we met that she had died and come back." Fred ran a hand over his face. "And now she's running right back into Death's arms."

The events of yesterday suddenly made sense to Fred. If he had a debt with Death he would have been behaving the same way she had been. Maybe that's why she had felt chills all day and why she had felt like someone had been following her. And if Fred had to guess who it was, he'd say it was Death.

It would also explain why Jesse had been acting nervous around Kairi. Jesse could pick up on Kairi's closeness to Death. Not being able to hold her daughter must have killed Kairi. No wonder she was so eager to get this all sorted out.

Fred had to go after her. He couldn't let his princess go on this wild adventure without him.

"You can't be serious! Joe, help me out here." Sam turned to Joe, expecting a reasonable response.

"And Sydney went with her." Joe buried his face in his hands. "I feel so stupid. I should have figured out that something was up sooner. No wonder she was being so weird this morning."

"No, no, no!" Sam stood up and crossed his arms.

He could accept the fact that time travel was possible, that one of his best friends even owned a magical book that allowed them to time travel. He could even come to terms with the fact that that same friend now had special powers that gave him the ability to control time. But this was preposterous. There was no place called the Land of the Dead. People didn't come back from the dead. If that was possible, Cade would go out and bring her parents back.

Sam grabbed onto the counter for support as the realization hit him. "That's why she went..."

If Sam could describe Cade in one word, it would be family-orientated. She had practically raised her little sister, Gabby by herself. Cade's parents had meant the world to her. Even after they disappeared, she held onto the hope that they were still alive for years. That hope had been crushed when she had the trio had found their bodies along with thousands of others in a hidden knowledge temple Sam believed to be linked to the Library of Alexandria. The discovery had crushed Cade. She still had her sisters, and she had always been grateful for that, but if Cade had the chance to see her parents one last time, there was no doubt that she would take it. And if there was a possibility to bring back the dead, Cade would do anything in her power to bring back her parents. If Sam knew anything, it was that.

"We have to go after them!" Fred slammed his hands down on the counter. "We can't let them go in alone!"

"Easy, Fred." Joe put a hand on Fred's shoulder. "You're making the kids nervous."

Fred took a glimpse at the children and saw that Joe was right. Each one of them was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and fear on their faces. He looked back at Joe and Sam.

"I stand by what I said," Fred spoke quieter this time. "We have to rescue them."

"If the girls didn't tell us the truth about where they're going, there's probably a good reason behind it," Joe suggested. "We should probably stay here. They may not even need rescuing or help at all."

Fred grabbed Joe's phone and turned the screen on, revealing his background image of Sydney surrounded by Jade, Lexi, and Riley. "Don't you want to go make sure Sydney is alright?"

"Of course I do," Joe snatched his phone back from Fred, "but you and I have kids, Fred. We can't just abandon our children for a week."

Fred grinned and threw his arm over Joe's shoulders. "That's what grandmas are for."

"I guess..." Joe rubbed the back of his neck.

He desperately wanted to go in after Sydney. He knew it was a lie to say that they wouldn't need rescuing or their help in any way. He remembered everything Kairi had told him from when Sydney was Shadowed and what had happened the first time they went into the Land of the Dead together. He'd seen his wife in enough dark moments and had even seen the physical darkness and shadows that sometimes surrounded her when those dark moments happened. Walking right back into the Land of the Dead couldn't be good for her, especially with her unstable mental state. He couldn't let her do this alone. Even if she had Cade and Kairi with her, they couldn't be there for her the way he could. Of that, he was certain.

"What?" Sam stumbled back from shock. "You can't be serious! We can't just jump into some place called the Land of the Dead. It doesn't exactly sound like a welcoming place. And we don't even know how to get there!"

"He's got a point, Fred. None of us have experience with that place nor do we know how to get there."

"Wouldn't _The Book_ have something on it?"

"It might." Joe moved to go fetch _The Book_ from its hiding spot.

"No, no, no!" Sam yelled again, knocking over the stool he had been sitting on. "Do you realize how crazy this all is?"

"What? Wanting to help out our wives?" Fred crossed his arms. "We can't just let them wander in there by themselves. Who knows what could happen to them?"

"Who knows what could happen to us if we try to go in after them?" Sam countered.

"Don't you want to help Cade, Sam?" Joe tilted his head, not understanding his friend's resilience. "What if she needs you? You can't just leave her like that."

"Of course I'm worried about Cade. But what am I supposed to do? I'm not strong like you or Fred, and I certainly don't have magical powers." Sam nodded to Joe's chest. "If the girls felt like they could handle this, then they can probably handle this."

Joe self-consciously touched his painted-stained shirt where his Warp Wizard mark gleamed underneath. "You're smart though. That's useful. And what about just being there for emotional support?"

Sam frowned and looked away. "I think I'm the last person Cade would go to for emotional support. Cade's been behaving off lately and we didn't exactly leave on the best of terms."

Joe and Fred exchanged amused glances. "Is that why you don't want to go? You two had a little fight and you're worried she doesn't want anything to do with you?"

"That might be part of it." Sam put his hands on his hips. "But so is everything else I said. This trip is way too dangerous. We could die!"

"Which is why we have to go. The girls will need us." Fred put on a smug grin, like he had just won the argument. "Joe, go get _The Book_ and let's get going! We can meet them there by morning!"

Joe nodded and left to grab his blue book.

Sam sighed. "I can't believe you're dragging me into all this."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Cade went too. You were already a part of this."

* * *

 **A/N - So I know I said that this chapter would have action, but it ended up being longer than I expected so I had to divide it. Next chapter will pick up though! Don't forget to review, favourite, and follow for more!**


	6. The Hole

**6\. The Hole**

Cade fiddled with her charm bracelet, focusing on the dopamine charm Sam had given her. With it added to her bracelet, she now had thirty-three charms. She often wondered how many she would have if her mother hadn't died. Would she need multiple bracelets to fit them all? It seemed likely given the speed at which her mother brought home charms for her. What other parts of her life would be different if she still had her parents? Would she even be on this insane adventure, literally sailing towards Death?

The small boat they had rented rocked back and forth as it pushed through the rough waters. It was a miracle the old charter boat had stayed together this long. It was anything but sturdy. The white paint had all but flaked completely off and the deck creaked with every step they took. However, it had managed to do its job. They'd been at sea for almost five hours now and the sun had set hours ago. They would be at their destination soon.

The three girls sat around inside the bridge taking turns at the helm. Currently it was Kairi's turn since they were close to the portal and she knew what they were looking for. Cade and Sydney were sitting on the floor behind her, both lost in their own thoughts.

"So how does this whole coming back from the dead thing work?" Cade asked, attempting to draw the room into conversation. It had been quiet for too long, making the tension in the air seem thicker.

"It depends," Kairi answered. "In my case I was the first to die of the bubonic plague. Death likes reminders of the deaths he's proud of, so people like me are brought back and serve as his servants. There's a lot of us. Death and his brothers are very creative when it comes to killing."

"His brothers?" Cade tilted her head. After she had gotten over the shock of Kairi's life, or lack thereof, she had grown increasingly curious about the whole ordeal. Her inner scientist wanted to know every detail. Could anyone come back? What was being dead like?

"The four horsemen," Kairi again responded. "Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence. Anyway, another way to come back is to do something similar to selling your soul to Death and in that case you become a Reaper and go around the entire space-time continuum collecting and delivering souls. The only other way to be brought back from Death is if you weren't supposed to die in the first place. If that happens, you become Shadowed. Like what happened with Sydney when she died." Kairi flinched, realizing too late that she had said too much.

Sydney didn't seem to notice however. She was concentrating on her phone, the dim glow the only source of light in their tiny room.

Cade blinked and turned to Sydney in surprise. "You died too?"

"Hmm?" Sydney glanced up from her phone and noticed Cade staring at her. "Sorry, I'm concerned about the amount of blush my daughter thinks I wear." She showed Cade the picture Joe had sent her of Riley's face covered in paint. She pulled her phone back and slowly traced the outline of Riley's young face. "I'm going to miss them."

Cade was about to point out that Sydney would see them again and this wasn't a one-way trip, but Sydney quickly changed the subject.

"What did you say?" Sydney asked.

Cade examined her closely, as if she wanted to read her thoughts. "Kairi just said that you died."

"She did?" Sydney's lips turned down and she looked to Kairi. "Kairi..."

"Sorry!" Kairi apologized. "It accidentally slipped out. But I didn't say anything else, I swear!"

"Why don't you have a debt to pay?" Cade leaned forward, an inquisitive look on her face.

Sydney quickly looked away. "My debt was paid years ago. I still pay for it every day."

"How did you end your debt?" Cade continued to question her.

Sydney fidgeted uncomfortably under Cade's stare, refusing to make eye contact. Her hand drifted to her wrist. "Why does it matter?"

Cade tilted her head, her curiosity turning into confusion. "Because it could help us with Kairi's situation?"

"It won't. My debt was paid the hard way." Sydney pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them, her hand now scratching at her wrist.

"Oh." Cade studied her two friends. "Are there any other secrets about you two that I should know about? I feel like I just met you."

"Probably." They answered at the same time.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"No," Sydney said, while Kairi said, "Maybe."

"Okay then..." Cade frowned. What had happened to them? Why were they being so secretive about their pasts?

Cade shook her head to clear her thoughts. She wasn't going to force it out of them. If they wanted to tell her, they'd do it on their own. "So how much longer until-"

 _Crack!_

A sudden clap of thunder resounded from outside, immediately cutting off Cade's words. The room lit up from a bright flash of lightning that struck down a little too close to the ship for comfort. The girls' heads snapped to the windows and they tensed up in fear.

"Wasn't the sky clear two seconds ago?" Sydney tentatively stood up and walked to the front of the room. She stood next to Cade and gazed out the window. "I definitely remember seeing stars."

The night sky was now cloudy, not a single star in sight. It was impossible to see anything beyond the ship. The only light came from the occasional lightning strikes shooting down in the distance. The ocean turned rough, batting them around like a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

Each girl found something to latch onto inside the room. They all held on for dear life. Even still, they managed to get pushed around and slammed into walls.

"Kairi! What the hell did you steer us into?" Cade and Sydney yelped as their heads bonked together. They tried to pull themselves away from each other, but ended up getting slammed back together two seconds later.

"Nothing! I mean, I didn't intend to steer us into anything. I just followed the compass in the direction of the portal and it led us here. We must be close to the entrance!" Kairi desperately clung to the steering wheel, trying and failing to put the ship back on course.

"How close is close?"

The ship violently rocked to one side. The girls screamed and collided into the surrounding wall as the boat nearly tipped over, going vertical. It managed to right itself, but just barely. It landed back into the water with a splash, coating the window in water and making it even harder to see the outside, not that there was much to see.

"Very close," Kairi moaned. She found temporary stability and gazed out the front window. "I'd say about one hundred feet actually."

"What?!" Sydney and Cade bolted to the window and tried to find what Kairi was staring at it, which proved to be an easy task. Their boat may not have been tall, but it rose high above the water enough to see the impending doom before them.

"Wow... It's actually a hole." Cade went slack-jawed, and her eyes went so wide she was actually worried they would fall out of her head.

"I was kind of hoping it was just a metaphor," Sydney added, matching Cade's expression of trauma.

The ocean ended a few yards in front of the ship. At least, it appeared that way. A gaping hole the size of several football fields spread out in front of them. The water surrounding it poured over the edge like a circular waterfall.

The ship lurched and picked up speed as it was dragged forward by the rushing current. The short moment of calm they had experienced ended, and the severe swaying and bouncing returned. The girls found something new to grab onto.

"So what? We just drive into it?"

"That's the plan." Kairi let go of the wheel. There was no use in trying to control the boat anymore. They were at the mercy of the ocean now.

"That's a terrible plan."

An immense wave crashed into the side of the boat. It pushed them underwater and sent them tumbling and spinning through the turbulent waters.

The girls screamed as they were flung against the metal wall again. They landed with a sickening crack and fell onto the floor.

Cade groaned and lifted her head. Her vision was blurry and she had trouble focusing. She pushed off the ground and tried to clear her head. Her sight slowly returned and she noticed the ceiling had become the floor and their new floor was wet. Cade's head was spinning and she was more disoriented than she had ever been in her life, but she had enough sense to lift herself out of the rising water.

She looked around the room, not really taking anything in. The ship was completely submerged. It's old body creaking more than ever. One of the windows had an expansive crack running through it, letting water pour inside the cabin. That caught Cade's attention and she promptly snapped out of her haze.

Her eyes scanned the room again, but this time she actually paid attention to what she was seeing. Kairi and Sydney were sprawled out on the ceiling/floor unconscious, blood trailing down from their temples. Cade scurried over to them and set them up against the wall, not wanting her friends to drown. She couldn't do anything about the bleeding, but it didn't look like they were losing too much blood. Then again, Cade's sister Adrienne was the doctor of the family, not her. Still, she had managed to pick up a few important medical skills along the way.

Cade ran a hand down her face. "We're supposed to enter the Land of the Dead alive, not die to get there."

The boat jerked and Cade fell forward, her face splashing down in the flooding water. She sat back up and wiped off her face, but she was so soaked at this point that it didn't really make much of a difference. She regretted not bringing something to keep her hair back. She was having difficulties keeping her voluminous red curls out of her face.

The water was now six inches deep and rising fast. Cade frantically searched around the bridge for something stop up the broken glass with. She thought she remembered seeing towels earlier, but they had been outside on the back deck. They weren't going to do her any good now.

"Come on," Cade muttered to herself. "There has to be something. Think. There's always a solution, you just have to find it."

Luckily for Cade, the water soon stopped increasing and she was spared from her search for an impromptu plug. It had risen to almost a foot and Kairi and Sydney's heads were dangerously close to falling below the surface. Cade's relief was short lived and she paused, puzzled as to why the water would cease all of a sudden. She glanced back at the damaged window. Water was no longer flooding the cabin. In fact, water was no longer in front of them at all as far as she could tell.

"What the..." Cade wearily moved to the window. The ship pitched forward out of nowhere and Cade soon realized why the water was gone.

They had arrived at the entrance to the Land of the Dead.

Water cascaded down around their boat and over top of it. The angle the vessel was at progressed more and more, sending Cade and her unconscious friends sliding forward. A vast void of darkness opened up underneath them. The water disappeared from view and it was if someone had shut off all the lights in the world.

Cade didn't even have time to scream before the boat plunged into the depths of darkness.

* * *

 **A/N - Don't forget to review, favourite, and follow! Thanks for reading!**


	7. The Land of the Dead

**7\. The Land of the Dead**

There is nothing more unsettling than waking up to see a skull staring back at you. The lifeless hollow eyes blankly stared ahead. Several cracks spread out over the top creating a shattered mirror effect.

"Oh good, we're here," Sydney mumbled sarcastically and rolled over onto her back with a groan.

She felt like she had been caught in the middle of the running of the bulls. There wasn't a part on her body that wasn't sore. She managed to push herself off the ground and do a quick health check. She was covered in bruises and cuts, but seemed alright otherwise. No broken bones at least.

The pain was strongest on the left side of her head. She lifted a hand and tentatively touched it. Her hand came away covered with blood. She winced and rapidly wiped it off on the ground, pushing back the surge of memories that threatened to clog her mind.

That would need to be dealt with. Sydney glanced down at her shirt, debating how attached to it she was. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple white tank. In the end, the need to staunch her wound won out. She ripped off the bottom half of the tank top and turned it into a bandage around her head, leaving her in a torn crop top. A hospital would have been better, but this would have to do. This was one of those rare moments when she was actually thankful for all her training. Her basic survival skills came in handy more than once. She just hoped this new injury wouldn't scar. The last thing she wanted was to have scars cutting through both sides of her face.

She took a moment to assess her surroundings and current situation and saw Cade and Kairi were in a similar state. Both girls were pretty banged up and were groggily taking in the scene.

She was surprised to see that Cade wasn't freaking out. Instead, she looked absolutely curious about everything. Her inquisitive forest green eyes hungrily devoured everything in sight.

Everything was exactly how Sydney remembered it. No matter how hard she tried to forget it, the nightmares consistently reminded her. They had been strongest after being here the first time and had died down considerably since, but they still haunted her occasionally at night. She wondered if being back would change that.

The sky glowed an ominous maroon while black clouds swirled around like blood in water. The name Land of the Dead was very fitting. The small area they could see had no life or beauty in sight. Bones littered the ground and created small piles here and there. They had no idea what laid before them beyond their small clearing. Dark fog loomed around them, the occasional tendril reaching out like a dying hand looking for someone to hold onto. Soft moans and shrieks could be heard coming from the surrounding fog. The entire place reeked of death and decay. It was a place designed to frighten even the bravest of souls.

The ship had apparently come through the portal with them, though unlike them, it was scattered in several pieces. There was no part of it that looked like a ship anymore.

"Home sweet home," Kairi mumbled. She stood up, her knees wobbling as she regained a sense of balance.

"I have to say, I did not miss this place one bit," Sydney added. She sat up, not risking standing yet until she was sure she had her bearings back.

"Is it usually so... depressing?" Cade experimentally toed a nearby skull as if she was afraid it would come alive any moment.

"It's called the Land of the Dead. So yes."

"Fair enough." Cade shrugged. "So what do we do now? Just wait for Death to show up?"

Kairi shook her head. "Oh no, we have a lot more travelling to do. It'll be a lot like the last time we were here." She turned to Sydney.

"Please tell me we aren't going back into the Spirit Realm?"

"No, just here and purgatory. Hopefully."

Cade studied the other two girls. "How many times have you been here?"

"I've been here countless times, but Sydney's only been here once," Kairi answered.

"And that was one too many." Sydney groaned as she finally pushed herself off the ground and stood up, her vision burring for a few moments. "And let me guess, the entrance to purgatory is constantly moving just like the Spirit Realm?"

Kairi nodded her head reluctantly. "Unfortunately and the entrance to purgatory will be a lot harder to find. We had the Shadow to help us find the Spirit Realm last time. The only way we'll find the purgatory portal is if someone or something shows us. Other than that, the only thing I know about it is that it's always near the entrance to hell."

"Sounds lovely." Sydney folded her arms across her chest. "Which way do you suggest we go then? The fog is lighter on that side, but there's less creepy moans coming from the other way."

"Either way we're bound to have at least one near-death experience."

"Direction of less disturbing howls it is then."

The trio of girls set off in their chosen direction. The more they walked, the more they realized how sore they were from their dramatic entrance. There were places where it hurt to move and it slowed their speed down considerably. Given their time limit, this situation was not ideal, but they made do with what they had and worked their way through it.

"So why couldn't we have gone directly to purgatory?" Cade asked, trying to maintain a conversation while also satisfying her curiosity.

"The Land of the Dead is the entrance to the underworld," Kairi began, shooting Cade a nervous smile, not sure how she would adjust to all the information. "It's the main area for travelers, spirits, and demons to move through and get to their final destination. There are five realms branching off of the Land of the Dead including purgatory, hell, the Sea of Dreams, the Land of Nightmares, and the Spirit Realm. Each place is as terrifying and deadly as the last. The entrances to these realms are unstable and are perpetually floating around."

Cade nodded like this was all second-hand knowledge to her. "And you said the only way to find the gateway to purgatory is having someone tell us where it is?"

"Or something. There are a plethora of strange and mythic creatures here. Trust me, it won't be long before we run into several of them."

"Like that Shadow thing you mentioned? What's that?" Cade questioned without thinking about it, her thirst for knowledge getting the best of her.

Sydney stiffened and clenched her fists. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"But I do!" Cade put her hands on her hips, again taking in all the sights encompassing her. "I could write an excellent paper over all this. It would be one of the greatest discoveries the world has ever known."

Kairi and Sydney both immediately halted, their heels digging into the dirt and ash. "Cade, no one can know about this place. There are millions of other worlds and universes out there and they are kept secret for a reason. If people found out about the Land of the Dead, any of the gods or goddesses, or magic they-"

"Kairi," Sydney swiftly cut her off. "You're doing that thing where you talk too much again."

Kairi blushed and turned around, pretending she hadn't said anything at all, but Cade had heard her loud and clear.

"Gods and goddesses? Magic? What are you talking about?" Cade crossed her arms and remained in her spot, refusing to move until she got some answers.

Sydney groaned and ran a hand down her face. "There's a lot more to the space-time continuum than you know and you don't need to know."

"Well why not?" Cade replied stubbornly, not understanding why they were withholding all this knowledge from her.

"Because you're normal," Kairi replied

"Normal?" Cade cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Yeah, like you're just a mortal," Kairi shrugged apologetically. "You've got no magic nor special abilities. You're not a god. You're not a Returner. You're not even a warper. You have no involvement in these affairs and therefore you don't qualify as someone who needs to know this information. It's kind of a strict law we have."

"And the fact that nearly everyone else important to me in my life gets to know this information doesn't count for anything? Or the fact that I'm literally standing in the middle of it all right now?"

"Well..." Kairi gave Sydney a sheepish look, ready to give into Cade's questioning. "She has a point."

"Kairi, you know the rules." Sydney crossed her arms. "And I don't feel like getting arrested."

"But she could be considered a warper at this point. Or if not, we could claim her as one. She is basically a part of all this now." Kairi put her hands on her hips. "And since when do you obey the rules?"

Sydney sighed and shook her head, her bloody field bandage giving her the appearance of an injured soldier caught in the middle of a battle. She gave Cade a long, hard stare. "You cannot write about any of this. You can't even talk about this to any of your science colleagues. Got it? This is kept hidden for a reason and there are a lot of people out there whose job is to prevent information like this getting out. They will not hesitate in coming after you."

Cade dropped her arms. "Fine, it's not like anyone would believe me anyway. They'd all think I'm some sort of loony. Sam certainly did when I told him."

"You what?!" Kairi and Sydney's jaws dropped. "Cade! We said we weren't telling the boys about this!"

Cade's hands shot up in defense and she stumbled two steps back. "Calm down. I just said he didn't believe me."

"But what if he tells Joe or Fred? They know about this place, and they'll believe you," Kairi panicked.

Sydney pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear if they try to come after us..." She shook her head. "They won't survive."

"It's not like they know how to get here," Cade defended herself. "And even if they somehow managed to figure that out, they're not crazy enough to come after us."

* * *

"I can't believe you two are crazy enough to go after them." Sam shook his head in disbelief. "You do understand how mental this is, right?"

"Stop being so negative, Sam. Besides, this isn't any more insane than the girls going there in the first place." Fred rolled his eyes. "Find anything yet, Joe?"

Joe shook his head. "Nothing. I figured _The Book_ would have something, but I can't find anything."

It was well past midnight by this point. Fred and Joe had taken their kids to their grandparents' houses, claiming there was an emergency and they would need to babysit for an indefinite amount of time. The relatives had of course been worried, but Joe and Fred were in and out so quickly, they didn't have time to listen to their questions that they didn't even have the answers to. They had all regathered in Joe's home and were currently frantically flipping through _The Book_ to find any sort of knowledge about the Land of the Dead.

"I wonder if it's like After Time," Joe mused, lost in thought.

"After Time?" Fred tilted his head. "What's that?"

"Doesn't matter." Joe waved his hands dismissively. "But _The Book_ only revealed the information about it once it heard us start to talk about it and that was the only way we could get there. Maybe the Land of the Dead works the same way."

"It's worth a shot," Fred responded with a shrug.

Sam groaned. "Maybe this is a sign that we shouldn't be going. Ever think of that?"

"Why are you being so resilient, Sam? I thought we went over this already. The girls need our help," Fred stated matter-of-factly.

"What if they don't? Why are you so determined that they can't do this without us? There's a reason they chose to do this mission by themselves. Unlike the two of you, I actually have faith in my girlfriend. I know that she's strong, smart, and capable enough to do this on her own. Cade's the most amazing women I know. If she can't do this, no one can." Sam waved his arms for emphasis.

Joe and Fred shared a knowing look, small smiles appearing on their lips. "You really sound like you love her."

"Of course I do." Sam put his hands on his hips, not sure what they were getting at.

"Then why haven't you married her yet?"

Sam's mouth open and closed like a fish out of water. "Wha- What? Cade and I are busy people and unlike you two, we aren't in a rush to get married. Where is this coming from?"

His friends both shrugged nonchalantly. "Are you sure Cade's on the same page as you about all this? Because maybe this trip is a way for her to get away from you and have some fun with a new man."

"Cade would never do that!" Sam baulked, shocked at his friends assumptions.

"Don't come crying to us when she leaves you for someone else all because you wouldn't make a move."

Sam balled his hands into fists. "That's it. I'm going, but not because I think they need our help. I'm going to prove you guys wrong about Cade."

"Whatever." They rolled their eyes and looked back at the magical blue book resting before them. "So you think if we talk enough about the Land of the Dead, a new page will appear that can take us there?"

"In theory."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's see," Fred tapped his fingers on his chin thoughtfully, "what do we know about this place?"

"Kairi told me about this place called the Spirit Realm."

"Oh, yeah! And she used to tell me about her Reaper friends."

Fred and Joe eagerly babbled on and discussed everything they knew about the Land of the Dead. Sure enough, _The Book_ started to glow a feint green indicating that it was working.

"Finally," Joe sighed with relief. "I was worried we didn't have enough information about it." He skimmed through _The Book_ until he discovered the new page.

'The Land of the Dead' was written across the top and several pages were filled with maps and information. Joe's eyes searched until they came upon a list of entrances.

"It's just a bunch of numbers." He frowned and knitted his eyebrows together.

"They're coordinates." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Do any of these look close to Bermuda?" Joe pushed _The Book_ in front of Sam so that he could have a better look at it.

"Well, Bermuda is north of the equator and west of the prime meridian." Sam's finger ran down the list of numbers. "This is the only one that would be in that area." He pointed at coordinates that read '26.832933, -69.112175'.

"Great. Let's get going." Fred hurriedly reached over the table to make a grab at _The Book_.

"Wait!" Joe yanked it away before Fred could seize it. "We can't use _The Book_ to get there."

"And why not?" Fred scowled and crossed his arms.

"Sydney said the reason I never got skilled with _The Book_ is because my Warp Wizard magic conflicted with it. Now that I'm actually using those powers and they're a lot more present and stronger than they were when we were kids, who knows how bad of a warp it will take us on." Joe carefully kept his blue book out of Fred's reach.

"Then how are we supposed to get there?" Sam asked. "We could fly like the girls did, but then we'd be a full day behind them and we'd never catch up with them."

A sly grin appeared on Fred's face. "We don't need to do that. We have our own ticket down there right here." He threw his arm across Joe's shoulders.

"Fred," Joe cautiously slipped away from him. "What are you talking about?"

"You told me that you could warp without needing any device. So you can warp us there using that special magic of yours." Fred smiled like it was the greatest idea anyone had ever come up with.

"I could try," Joe rubbed the back of his neck. "But I've never warped like that without Sydney and I've never had to take this many people. Not to mention, I'm not exactly good at it."

"I have faith in you. We'll be fine. Start doing your little Warp Wizard thing and let's go. The sooner we find the girls, the better." Fred closed his eyes and waited for Joe to begin.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." Joe gave in as green mist started to swirl around them and they were gone in a bright flash of green light.

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry for the delay! I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner!**


	8. The Fall

**8\. The Fall**

The wind whistled past Sam's ears. He probably should have been terrified that he was falling through the open sky at terminal velocity, but he only felt annoyed. Here he was trying to 'rescue' his girlfriend, who probably didn't even need saving in the first place. He didn't want to come on this trip, and now he was going to die for being forced to go. He had so many unfinished projects and inventions too. He felt like his death would inconvenience people more than it would upset them.

He distantly heard the sound of yelling. He twisted himself around in the air and saw Joe and Fred arguing with each other. The sight of his best friends arguing while falling through the air was almost funny enough to make Sam laugh out loud, if it weren't for their imminent death of course.

"You said you could do it!" Fred shouted, his voice barely heard over the roar of the wind.

"No, I told you I wasn't good at warping yet! You're the one who said you had faith in me!" Joe yelled back.

Sam rolled his eyes as the boys continued to argue. If they wanted to spend their final moments yelling at each other, then so be it. Sam didn't care. Though it was their fault he was here in the first place.

He wondered what poor city would be stuck with cleaning up their splattered bodies. He wiggled himself around some more to get a better look at the ground below.

They crashed through a charcoal coloured cloud and that's when the terror finally hit him.

"Uh, Fred? Joe?" Sam squeaked out.

He was ignored as the boys continued their bickering. "This is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault? We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you!"

"Guys?" Sam tried and failed again. He couldn't help but stare at the frightening sight that was getting closer and closer by the second.

No matter how hard Sam tried, he could not get Fred and Joe's attention. Luckily, the abrupt torrid weather did it for him.

A streak of lighting exploded next to them, finally capturing their attention.

"Where are we? And where did this storm come from?" Joe and Fred looked around to try to get a sense of where there were.

"The storm's the least of our worries." Sam pointed down. He spread his body out in an attempt to slow his descent, refusing to accept their fate.

Joe and Fred wriggled their bodies around in a highly ungraceful fashion. Sam hoped he hadn't looked that stupid when he did it earlier. Not that he should have cared given their present situation.

"That's a big a hole." That seemed to be all they could get out, the shock of seeing the monster sized hole limiting their vocabulary.

"That has to be the entrance to the Land of the Dead!" Fred yelled excitedly, coming to his senses. "You actually did it, Joe! I mean, look at this place! It practically screams death!"

"Which is exactly why I'd like to leave!" Sam closed his eyes, as if that would make all this go away. "Joe, get us out of here!"

"Why? We're right where we want to be." Joe grinned, glad that his warp had worked. "We'll be in the Land of the Dead in no time. Then we can track down the girls!"

"This is where we want to be? We are plunging through the sky!" Sam continued to panic. "Do you really think this is going to be a good landing?"

"We'll be fine. Even if we die, we'll still end up in the Land of the Dead right?" Fred smiled, enjoying the free-fall.

"Newsflash! I don't want to die!"

"Well you don't really have a choice now, do you?"

Sam knew his friends were right. Whether he wanted it to or not, and he definitely did not, this was happening and there wasn't anything we could do about it except enjoy the flight. Easier said than done.

They were closer to the hole than Sam realized. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't as close as it seemed, but he was too smart to trick himself by that fantasy.

Their expeditious descent soon carried them into the hole. Sam squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around himself as tightly as he could. He expected it to be cold. There was no light, he couldn't even see Fred and Joe, who had been inches away from him two seconds prior. The air inside the hole was surprisingly, and somewhat pleasantly, warm. If this truly was the entrance to the Land of the Dead, shouldn't the air be chilly? Unless they were actually descending into hell.

Sam fought the urge to groan. That would be their luck. Attempt to enter the Land of the Dead, and fly right through and end up in hell instead. He let his body go limp, belatedly accepting his current situation.

They tumbled deeper into the hole. All traces of the storming sky above vanished. The atmosphere around the boys unexpectedly shifted. The air that was warm just moments ago turned frigid and the sound of wind rushing by ceased. In fact, the very sensation of falling through the air was no longer present.

Sam's body suddenly felt as if it were made of water. He tried to move his fingers or kick his feet, but he didn't know where they had floated off to. His chest poured into his head, and his knees melded together. He had the abrupt fear that his body wouldn't never return to normal, that when they landed, if they landed, his right leg would be coming out of his back and one hand would have seven fingers. He strived to scream, to make any noise come out of his mouth, but nothing happened. His liquid body continued to plunge into darkness.

Sam's last thought, before he blacked out, was that he hoped Cade would forgive him for dying at the start of their rescue mission.

* * *

"So ghosts are real? Like all those crazy paranormal hunters aren't actually crazy?" Cade wished more than anything that she had brought a notepad with her. Kairi and Sydney had been enlightening her about the other half of the world she knew nothing about. A world that was much more exciting than the one she had known.

Kairi nodded her head in response to Cade's questions. "I can't say that all the paranormal encounters people have experienced are actually true, but I can say that ghosts do exist. They're just souls reapers failed to collect or ones that escaped, but they're never in the world for long. They get recaptured fairly quickly."

"Fascinating," Cade said breathlessly. She had learned more in the past few hours than she had in all of her college experience. She loved the thrill that came with learning new things and the excitement of a new discovery. It made her want to change schools, careers even. "Where do people go to learn all this?"

"Well, the Warp Academy at Draylon is where you would enroll to study time travel, alternate universes, theory of relativity, and things like that. It's basically the space-time continuum's best school for quantum physics," Sydney explained. "I'm not sure how you would learn about the Land of the Dead and things like that though."

Kairi shrugged. "You kind of just pick it up as you go. I'm sure even I don't know everything, and I lived here for almost seven hundred years." Kairi sighed. "I never once missed this place, but the moment we got here I immediately started to miss New York. I hope Fred and Jesse are okay."

"They'll be fine," Sydney comforted her. "A lot better than they'd be if they were here at least." She paused with a long exhale. "But I know how you feel. I didn't think I would miss just holding my babies so much. I feel a little bad leaving Joe alone with all the kids for so long. At least I don't have to worry about Jade trying to send Riley back to the stork anymore. He finally got too big to fit in the mailbox."

Kairi snickered. "I think Fred will be fine looking after Jesse, but I've never left him alone with her this long. She's teething and we can't get her to stop biting all of our pillows."

"Lexi used to do that too. It got to the point where we had to hide all our pillows from her, but then she just started biting Riley instead." Sydney shook her head with the hint of a smile on her lips.

"We buy them all these teething rings, but instead they choose to eat all our furniture." Kairi laughed. "No one ever tells you how much having a kid destroys your furniture and décor."

"And of course the dads never know what to do. They just look at you helplessly as if, as the mother, you should have all the answers." Sydney joined in on Kairi's laughter. "I'll never forget the first time Joe had to change a diaper. Every two seconds he asked me if he was doing it right, as if he screwed it up, the baby would die."

"Fred was the same way! I had to take over. I thought he was going to have a heart attack from all that worrying."

"Or the first time Jade sneezed. Joe freaked and acted like she had a terminal disease."

The two moms continued their laughter, reminiscing on memories of their family. Cade walked silently along next to them, her head hung low.

"Yeah, must be terrible having a husband and children to care for and come home to everyday," Cade mumbled under her breath.

Kairi and Sydney ceased their laughter, immediately turning to give her sympathetic looks.

"Don't worry," Kairi offered. "I'm sure Sam will propose soon, and before you know it your house will be filled with the pitter-patter of little feet on the floor."

"And if he doesn't, there are plenty of other men out there who will," Sydney said.

"Sydney!" Kairi chided and stared at her in shock.

"What? It's true," Sydney defended herself with a shrug. "If Sam doesn't wise up soon and give Cade what she wants, she has every right to leave him. If she's not happy in the relationship, she shouldn't be stuck in it forever."

"She's got a point, Kairi." Cade wrapped her arms loosely around herself. "Maybe it's time I leave Sam and find someone else."

"No!" Kairi vigorously shook her head. "You guys have been together for years! You can't just throw it all away!"

"But it's clearly not going anywhere."

"You don't know that!" Kairi pouted. "I helped get you two together in the first place because I knew that you were meant for each other. If I have to help you get married as well, then so be it."

Cade offered her a soft smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "That's sweet, Kairi, but I don't think-" Cade froze in place. Her eyes squinted at something she saw up ahead. "Did either of you see that?"

The other two girls glanced in the same direction as Cade and shook their heads. "What did you see?"

"I could have sworn I saw a person. They were walking, but disappeared in the fog before I could get a better look."

Kairi tilted her head. "It could have been a Reaper. There are a lot more people travelling through here than you think." She suddenly perked up. "But if we find them maybe they can help us find the entrance to purgatory!"

Kairi started to run ahead, but was quickly stopped by Sydney as she grabbed the back of her shirt collar. "Easy there. If you run into that fog, we'll lose you in five seconds and then we'll have a whole new set of problems on our hands."

"Right." Kairi sighed, her shoulders slumping down. "It's almost the end of day two, and we have no idea where the purgatory entrance is."

"We also don't know how to pay off your debt yet. We need to figure that out before we go jumping into purgatory."

"I know. I just wish we had some clue as to where we were headed. It'd be much better than wandering around." Kairi looked at the surrounding skulls, as if they would start talking and help them on their journey.

"We don't have much of a choice." Sydney crossed her arms. "The Land of the Dead doesn't greet you with a tour guide."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," a new baritone voice spoke up from behind them.

The trio of girls jumped and spun around to identify the newcomer. A tall figure leaned against a rocky wall composed of skulls and bones. They were standing in the shadows, hiding their face from view.

"Who are you?" Sydney leaned back and clenched her fists, ready to strike if need be.

The mysterious man stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself in the eerie glow of their surroundings. "The name's Liam, and I'm your tour guide to the Underworld."

* * *

 **A/N - I meant to get this up sooner, but I had my wisdom teeth removed and I've been recovering from surgery. The pain killers they had me on made me pretty loopy and tired so I basically unplugged myself for a bit. So excuse my absence from the internet for the past week.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to review! Reviews can be anonymous and it only takes two seconds and really helps me out (and makes me feel better ;)).**


	9. Dusk of the Dead

**9\. Dusk of the Dead**

The landing hurt a lot more than Joe expected it to. He groaned, not sure if he was happy that he was regaining feeling in his limbs or not. He kept his eyes closed, took deep breaths, and hoped the pain was temporary.

 _This has to be the worst idea you've ever had_ , a soft voice spoke in Joe's head.

He immediately shot up, his eyes snapping open. It had been so long since he heard her voice that he almost forgot what it sounded like, but he recognized it instantly. There was only one person who could talk to him like that.

 _Isis_ , Joe thought with malice, _it's been awhile. Where have you been?_

 _Honestly, the Land of the Dead is no place for a Warp Wizard. Your powers are much weaker here._ Isis went on, ignoring his question. _I'm only looking out for you._

 _I'm here to help my wife, who I'm lucky to still have no thanks to you._ Joe rolled his eyes. Isis had been the one to activate Joe's magic in the first place, officially making him a Warp Wiz and causing him to nearly get killed by Sydney.

 _I warned you that being a Warp Wizard would cause problems. Don't blame me for a choice you willingly made by yourself._

 _Maybe my memory's a little foggy, but I don't remember there being much of a choice._

Isis was silent for a while. Joe was beginning to think she left his mind, but she spoke one last time. _Just be careful while you're here. That empty vision of your future isn't so empty anymore. And please, try to remember that I am on your side._

Joe frowned at Isis' words. That empty vision? Joe's mind went back to when they were in After Time and Isis had first revealed herself to him. She had shown him three different visions of his future. Only one would come true and it all depended on the path he chose to take, magic or no magic. The third portal had been blank, just fog swirling round and round, and that was the one that had remained after Joe's decision. What did it mean if it was no longer empty?

Joe was dragged out of his thoughts by an overly excited Fred. "We made it!"

"We're alive. We're actually alive," Sam spoke in disbelief, enjoying the feeling of life flowing through him.

Joe studied his friends. They looked as bad as he felt, though Joe probably didn't look much better. The landing had been hard on all of them, but at least they were alive.

"Now all we have to do is track down the girls." Fred paused, his smile slowly dropping. "Anyone know how to do that?"

Sam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Sorry. I left my bloodhounds at home."

"They couldn't have gone too far, right?" Joe stood and joined his friends. "Let's just walk around until we find them."

"How do we know if they even landed here? We could be hundreds of miles away from them!" Sam exclaimed. The trio looked around. Their landing sight showed no sign of any previous visitors. It didn't show any signs of life at all.

"We have to find them eventually. We're wasting time just standing around here. Let's get going." Fred turned to leave, deciding that was the end of their conversation.

Joe and Sam had no choice but to follow. They jogged to catch up with Fred, who was speed walking his way through piles of bones and between high cliff walls.

It took a minute for Joe to notice, but once he did, he couldn't take his eyes off of it. "Fred... what's that in the back on your shirt?"

A rectangular bulge was poking out from Fred's back, tucked in the waistband of his pants and hidden underneath his shirt. Fred quickly turned around to hide it from Joe's view. "Um... my wallet?"

Joe stopped and folded his arms over his chest. Fred made a lot of money at his job, but even he wouldn't have a wallet that big. "Please, tell me that is not what I think it is."

"What do you think it is?"

Joe rolled his eyes and gestured to Fred to hand it over. With a reluctant sigh, Fred reached back and pulled out _The Book_.

"Fred!" Joe yelled. He yanked _The Book_ from Fred's grasp. "I told you that _The Book_ interferes with my magic! No wonder we ended up thousands of feet in the air! What if something happened to it? You know what could happen if it gets destroyed!"

Fred held his hands up defensively. "I know, but I thought it could be useful so I grabbed it right before we left. That thing had maps of this place in it, remember?"

Joe shook his head. "You shouldn't have brought it." He handed The Book to Sam. "Here, I trust you with it more than I trust Fred, and I don't want it on me in case I have to use my magic."

Sam eyed Joe's book wearily, as if the last thing he wanted was to be in charge of it. He finally took it and put it away. "Can we get going? The sooner we're out of here, the better. This place gives me the creeps." Sam wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, taking in his surroundings nervously.

"I agree. We need to find the girls and get this all over with." Joe looked around as well, Isis' warning about his magic being weaker here coming back to him. "Come on, let's get moving."

* * *

Liam had proved to be an interesting character. He was very deliberate in his movements and spoke about the Land of the Dead as if he was its architect. He was always smiling in a carefree way, as if he knew nothing could affect him.

His voice was laced with a thick Australian accent and could almost pass as a close relative of Cade's. They had the same deeply tanned skin and forest green eyes, but Liam's hair was as black as the mist that surrounded them and cropped short and tight like a soldier's. He was at least ten years older than the girls, but nothing about his behaviour showed it.

The girls were uneasy about letting him tag along and would rather have sent him away. He stuck around anyway, either oblivious to the girls' distrust of him or too carefree to worry about it. He seemed friendly enough, but one could never be too sure.

Sydney and Kairi were sitting off to the side of the small clearing they had decided to stop at for the night, knowing it would get too dangerous for them to keep travelling. Liam, who had recognized a fellow Aussie the second Cade spoke, was chatting her up a few yards away from them. He was well out of earshot as long as they stayed quiet.

"Think he was sent by Death?" Sydney mumbled. She examined Liam, making sure to pick up on every detail no matter how minor it appeared to be. No one in their group fully trusted him yet, though it seemed as if Cade was warming up to him the more they talked. To be fair, nothing about the man seemed threatening.

"I don't think so," Kairi answered. "He could be a spy, but he doesn't look anything like a Reaper or a Returner. He's definitely alive. Unless he agreed to a deal with Death to turn him alive again if he observed us while we were here."

Sydney scoffed. "If he is a spy, he's the worst one I've ever seen."

"What do you mean?" Kairi continued to watch as Cade laughed at something Liam said.

"He's not observant, like at all. If he was sent here to keep an eye on us, he would be keeping an eye on us. In the short time he's been with us, I can tell that he's right-handed, hard of hearing in his left ear, and has an old-fashioned politeness and attitude about him. I doubt he knows anything about us outside of what we've told him. He doesn't seem to care about what we say or do. Well, except Cade. He's practically throwing himself at her." A soft smirk came to Sydney's lips. "Maybe this will be good for her and help show her there's more men in the world besides Sam."

Kairi sighed, a soft pout appearing on her face. "I wish you and Cade would stop talking like that. There's nothing wrong with Sam and Cade's relationship. Sam's always taken his time with her. I think it's sweet."

Sydney shook her head. "You're an adult, Kairi. It's time you learned that not every love story ends in happily ever after."

Kairi's pout increased and she quickly decided to change the subject back to their guest. "Shouldn't we find out more about Liam?"

"Definitely." Sydney nodded firmly. "He obviously knows a lot about this place, but for all we know he could have been following us and is just repeating what we told Cade earlier. I think it's time we learned a little bit about our tour guide."

The cousins stood and made their way over to him and Cade, who were still having a conversation.

"So, Liam," Sydney started as she sat down next to him, promptly cutting off his prior chat. "How did you arrive to this lovely hell-hole?"

"Technically, dearie, this isn't hell." Liam shook his head as if she was a confused child. "Hell's portal isn't even near us at the moment."

"You know where the portals are?" Kairi jumped over Sydney's lap and zealously got in Liam's face, abandoning any thoughts of suspicion. Sydney frowned at her, both for invading her personal space and for suddenly trusting Liam.

"Course I do." Liam pulled out a small, leather bound book. "Got it all right here."

"And just how do you have all this information?" Sydney pushed Kairi back down and eyed the book in Liam's hand skeptically. "The portals are always moving. You can't pin them down."

"Sure you can. They may be constantly switching places, but they always follow the same pattern." Liam proudly tapped the cover of his little book. "And I know the exact pattern. Why are you lovely sheilahs so interested in the portals? You lookin' for one?"

"Purgatory!" Kairi answered before anyone else could. "We really, really need to find the entrance to purgatory! Like, within the next five days. Can you help us?"

"Don't see why not." Liam grinned in a gentlemanly way. He scanned the pages of his notebook, revealing drawings of maps with notes written off the sides. "Let's see... purgatory should be in the north at this time of year." He stopped when he finally found the page he had been searching for. "Ah, yes. There it is. Section B6. It'll take us four days to get there."

"Four days?" Kairi frowned.

"And that's if we don't stop during the day for breaks." Liam promptly shut the book and hid it from view. "We'll have to make it there within four days. After that, the purgatory portal moves to a new spot and I can't guarantee that we'll get there before your deadline."

"It's better than walking around like we were doing," Cade offered an encouraging smile. She cast a sidelong glance at Liam and toyed with a strand of her hair, her bracelet jingling in the process.

"What would you do that for? In fact, why do you need my help at all?" He pointed over his shoulder at Sydney. "She can just summon up some of her demon friends and show you the way."

"My what?" Sydney squinted at him, clearly not knowing what he was referring to. "What are you talking about?"

"I see you and your circus friends come through here all the time. You usually do one of your little dances to make some demons appear and navigate through no problem." Liam turned to look at her. "Why'd you change your hair? The cherry red was nice."

"Circus?" Kairi spoke before Sydney could barrage him with more questions. "You mean the Cirque des Morts? Why would they be coming here?"

"That's the one." Liam nodded. "No clue why they come here though. You sure you're not that demon girl? You look just like her."

"I've never been more sure in my life," Sydney answered. "I've never even heard of the Cirque des Morts."

Liam shrugged. "Sorry for the mistake then. But I swear you could pass as her twin."

Sydney didn't say anything back, lost in thought. Her eyes looked to the ground, her left hand tracing the scar over her collarbone.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, dearies. We have quite the journey ahead of us and I am going to need some rest. I suggest you do the same." He rose to his feet and dipped his head to them. "Goodnight."

The girls watched as he strode away with crisp footsteps. He settled down in a spot not too far from them near a cliff wall.

"This is fantastic!" Kairi clasped her hands together. "Now all we have to do is come up with a plan to get out of my debt."

"Except that we still don't know anything about him." Sydney crossed her arms, finally coming out of her thoughts.

"He doesn't seem that bad," Cade offered with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, come on. You never trust anyone when you first meet them. What's so special about him?"

Cade shrugged, her eyes focusing on the ground. "Not a clue, but he's done nothing wrong so far. He's even taking us to the portal."

"So he claims," Sydney kept her eyes locked on Liam. "For all we know, he could be leading us into a trap."

"Why would he do that?" Kairi tilted her head. "He has no reason to betray us, does he?"

"I wish I knew the answer, but unfortunately, I didn't get enough information on the guy to even take a guess." Sydney furrowed her brow. "Look, I'm just being cautious. Something about him seems off. He kept dodging all my questions. How could he possibly know as much as he does about the Land of the Dead? That notebook he has is precise and detailed. And the way he behaves is so... out-of-date. Look at what he's wearing. It looks like some sort of uniform." She gestured to his weathered clothes.

His outfit seemed as though it was once white, but was now a grungy grey. The sleeves of his shirt had obviously been torn off, leaving him in an awkward looking vest with the top three buttons missing. His pants had several holes in them and the bottoms were entirely frayed.

"It's not like there's an undead army," Kairi said with a shrug. "Even if it is a uniform, we don't have to worry about him calling a battalion of zombies."

"Still... and what was up with that demon girl thing? Kairi, what exactly is the Cirque des Morts?"

Kairi waved her hand dismissively. "Exactly what you think it is, the Circus of the Dead. I'm more interested to know why they've been coming here. Their business is in the overworld, not the underworld."

Sydney and Cade exchanged skeptical looks, not satisfied with Kairi's answer. In truth, they had no idea what to think of the Cirque des Morts.

Kairi simply shrugged it off. "I'm sure it's nothing. Anyway, Liam was right. We need to get some sleep. We can't afford to stop during the day."

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement. "Let's just hope this trip doesn't throw us any surprises."

* * *

 **A/N - My wifi was out for three days, which gave me plenty of time to be productive. So expect lots of updates from me soon. ;) As always, please leave a review. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Help Not Wanted

**10\. Help Not Wanted**

Kairi's back popped as she stretched it out the next day. Sleeping on the ground never got comfortable no matter how times you had to do it. She frowned as she took in her appearance. She was filthy after walking around for only a day. Grunge was definitely not her best look.

She glanced up and did a head count to make sure everyone was still present. She hated to think one of her friends could have been killed by demons in the middle of the night. They could be quite the pest here.

Everyone was still alive and awake thankfully. Liam was sitting nearby and studying his notebook. He smiled when he noticed her staring at him. He stood and sauntered over to her. He tipped his head in greeting and sat down next to her. "G'day, dearie. I was just checking my map for the quickest way to purgatory. Glad to see you're up though. We'll need to hit the road soon."

Kairi grinned. "Thank you so much for helping us. We really, really needed this."

"No worries. I'm glad to help." He scratched the back of his head. "But why do you need to get to purgatory so bad? If you don't mind my askin' that is."

Kairi bit her lip, unsure how much she should tell him. Saying she was going to meet with Death might scare him off and then they'd have no way of finding purgatory. Sydney's weariness of him came to mind as well. They still didn't know who he was. Did he really deserve to know that much about them?

"It's a secret you want to keep, I see." Liam gave her a knowing smile. "Very well. I won't ask again." He jumped back to his feet and held his hand out to help Kairi get up. "We should get going, yeah? You have a deadline to meet."

* * *

Kairi, Cade, Sydney, and Liam had been hiking through the Land of the Dead all day and it had been pleasantly uneventful. Liam had proved that he was familiar with the underworld and his handmade maps were accurate. He led them through the terrain like he was the Land of the Dead's official tour guide. Despite their best efforts, they still couldn't get Liam to answer any questions about himself. They had given up and spent most of the walk in silence.

"I have to say, we're making ace time. We might make it there sooner than I thought." Liam studied his maps. "We'll still be cutting it close, but might have time to take a break at some point."

"How about now?" Kairi suggested, not wanting to admit how much her feet were hurting her. "It's almost night time anyway."

"True enough." Liam examined the area around them. "But I don't think you want to stop here. I've seen quite a few demons in this area and if we stop, we'd be begging them to attack us."

"Demons?" Cade asked.

Liam nodded. "Pesky little things. Their teeth are sharp enough to tear a diamond to pieces, but what you really need to worry about is their breath. Demon's breath is the most poisonous gas in existence. One breath and you'll be a goner."

"What do they look like?"

"Creepy." Kairi shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "They're small, but deadly. Half the time, you can't even see them coming because they morph into the shadows. Their bodies are solid black except for their glowing eyes, which are this haunting yellow colour."

"You mean like that?" Cade pointed to the top of cliff where two glowing yellow orbs were staring directly at them. A high pitched shriek pierced through the air.

Kairi yelped and covered her ears. "Yes! We need to move, now!" Kairi pushed her friends into motion. They ran ahead and around a corner for cover. If they could outpace the demon, they'd be safe. The girls turned another corner and slipped through a narrow gap.

"No! Not that way!" Liam tried to stop them, but they had already squeezed through. Liam groaned and followed them inside. "It's a dead end."

The girls had realized that seconds before he said it. They spun around to escape, but found that the demon was blocking their only exit.

The demon screeched again, the haunting sound reverberating around the walls. Its body stuck out at awkward angles. Everything looked sharper than it should have been, its elbows, its feet, even its three fingers had the appearance of daggers. On top of its head sat two antennas, twisted and bent in acute corners. They were constantly twitching as if they were searching the area for prey. It flashed its icicle shaped teeth, and black fog oozed from its mouth.

Kairi gasped and pulled her shirt over her mouth. "Don't breathe that in! One whiff and you'll be dead!"

The others followed her lead and quickly covered their mouths.

"How do we get out of here?" Cade searched the area. The demon had them trapped in a corner with no path of escape in sight. The walls surrounding them were not climbable.

"Can we hit it with something?" Sydney stared at the ground, looking for a rock or bone to throw at the monster coming towards them. "That should stun it, right? And then we can get away."

"No!" Kairi shook her head as if that was the worst idea she had ever heard. "That will only make it angrier. We need to run away from it. The only way to survive demon's breath is to not breathe it in in the first place! The only things that can survive demon's breath are other demons and people who are Shadowed."

"She's right," Liam added. "Demons are very temperamental creatures. If we don't figure out a way to get out of here now, we will die in seconds."

"Well, I'm open to ideas!"

Everyone scanned the territory in a desperate attempt to find a way to avoid their death. No way presented itself. They were surrounded by unclimbable walls and the demon occupied their only straight shot out of there.

The demon continued its deliberate walk towards them. It took its time, like a tiger toying with its prey before the kill. The fog emitting from its mouth continued to spread out and close in on its targets.

Sydney gritted her teeth. "We're going to have to jump over it."

"But the poisonous gas!"

"You can hold your breath can't you? Look, it's the only way. Do you want to live or not?"

No one answered. They knew she was right. They just had to hope the gas wasn't too thick and try their best to not breathe any of it into their lungs.

"On the count of three. One. Two. Thr-"

" _Subsisto_!"

The demon became frozen in a green glow and the black fog encompassing it dissipated.

The group stumbled out of their ready-to-jump positions, not able to cancel their momentum. Their eyes shifted around in an attempt to identify who or what had stopped their attacker.

With one final shriek, the demon was tossed away into the shadows. There was a pause as everyone waited to see if it would re-emerge, but after a few seconds passed it was clear it was gone for now.

"How-" Sydney's eyes traced back to where the demon had been only moments before. Her fists tightened and a surge of anger filled her as she recognized the three familiar faces that had appeared before them. She rounded on Cade. "Oh no, they won't come after us. They'd never be crazy enough to do that."

Cade glared at her boyfriend as he and his friends approached. "You told them?"

Sam chuckled nervously and kicked at the ground. "Surprise?"

"Really? That's the greeting you're going to give us?" Fred folded his arms. "You're not going to thank us for saving your lives?"

"Us?" Joe frowned at him. "Sorry, I must have the part where you helped."

The girls scowled at them, not at all pleased with their arrival. The boys took an uneasy step back, surprised by their reaction. They expected smiles and excited greetings, not glares and cold-shoulders. They paused and took in the girls' appearances, noting the dirt and injuries.

"You're hurt," Joe gasped and ran over to Sydney. He tentatively reached up to examine the bloody bandage on her forehead.

Sydney pushed his hand away. "How did you get here?"

"I warped us." Joe proudly smiled, tilting his chin up. "And it actually went well. I think I'm finally getting the hang of warping."

Sam scoffed. "If you call falling through the sky well..."

"That wasn't my fault!" Joe defended himself. "That wouldn't have happened if Fred didn't grab _The Book_."

"You warped by yourself?" Sydney ran her hand over her face and shook her head. She hesitated as the rest of what he said registered. "You warped with _The Book_? You know you're not supposed to use your magic around it! You are doing all the things I told you not to do!"

"I didn't know Fred took it!" The corners of Joe's mouth turned down. "What's wrong? Why are you all so unhappy to see us? We came here to help."

Kairi gazed at Fred with somber eyes. "You being here is only going to make things worse."

"Beg your pardon, but who are they?" Liam spoke for the first time since the boys had arrived.

The boys frowned, as if they had just now noticed Liam was there. "Who is he?" They all asked and crossed their arms.

"A friend." Cade waved her hand dismissively. "I think we need to have a talk. Alone."

* * *

Joe shifted nervously under the glare from Sydney. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I shouldn't have warped without backup."

"Do you know how badly you could've been hurt?" Sydney put her hands on her hips. "You could have died!"

"At least I would have ended up here either way," Joe attempted a joke, but immediately knew it was a terrible attempt to lighten the situation.

Sydney had dragged him away from the others so they could talk. They were completely out of their sight. Kairi and Cade had done the same with Fred and Sam. Though Joe knew these talks were more likely to lead to scoldings from the girls.

"You can't be here. Take Fred and Sam and go back to New York."

"No," Joe shook his head, "we came here to assist you guys because we want to be there for you. You three may think you can handle everything on your own, but it never hurts to have excess help."

"It's much too dangerous for you here." Sydney continued to glare at Joe.

"Why do you want me to leave so badly? You know I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. You're the one who trained me."

"That doesn't matter. You can't be here."

"But I am. So I'm staying."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"I have been responsible for enough deaths!" Sydney snapped. "Yours will not be one of them!"

Joe's face softened as he reached to touch her face. "Sydney..."

Sydney sharply smacked his hand away. "Go home, Joe. Now."

"No." Joe crossed his arms.

"Yes," Sydney stomped her foot impatiently, "if Death finds out you're here he _will_ kill you."

"Why? I didn't do anything."

"No, but I did. Death and I are not on the best of terms. The moment he sees an opportunity to take you from me, he will."

Joe laughed and shook his head, earning an angry glare from Sydney.

"What are you laughing at? This isn't funny, Joe!"

"Only you would make an enemy of Death." Joe reached out and brushed Sydney's hair away from her face, careful to avoid her injury, and cupped her cheek in his palm. "We're here to pay Kairi's debt, not yours. I'll be fine."

"You can't guarantee that. Please Joe, go home. I have lost enough people in my life. I can't risk losing you too. You and the kids are the only real family I have left."

"You aren't going to lose me." Joe wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. "I promise."

Sydney sighed and stared up into Joe's green eyes. "There's nothing I can do or say to make you leave is there?"

"Nope." Joe smirked. "It'd be a waste of time, and I'm assuming we don't have a lot of that to spare."

"You're right." Sydney nodded with a sigh. "We still have to figure out a plan to trick Death into ending Kairi's debt. Liam says the purgatory portal moves in four days and we need to get there before then."

"About him... who is he?" Joe tilted his head and tried to hide the jealousy he was feeling.

Sydney scoffed. "I wish I knew. Any time I try to find out more info on him, he manages to dodge my questions. He seems okay, but I have no real way of knowing."

"In that case, we should head back. It may not be the smartest idea to leave him alone with everyone else." Joe looked up and searched for the way back. "Um... you remember which way we come from, right?"

Sydney gave him a look of confusion. Her eyes followed his and she noticed what he did. The fog had thickened around them, hiding the path back to their friends.

Sydney stepped back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kairi! Cade!"

There was no response.

Sydney groaned. "I really hate this place."

* * *

Kairi pinched the bridge of her nose. "What made you think it was a good idea to come here, Fred? We didn't tell you for a reason."

Fred tilted his head and squinted at her. "Why? We just want to help. Sam told us how you're here to pay a debt."

"Which is exactly why you can't be here." Kairi sighed. "And yet I know if I tell you to leave, you won't."

"Of course not. I'm here because I was worried about you." Fred pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. His nose was filled with the pleasant scent of cinnamon, even after trudging around the underworld she still managed to smell amazing to Fred.

"But you have no reason to be. The Land of the Dead used to be my home. I'll be fine here without your help." Kairi stared up into Fred's blue eyes. "You don't understand how risky it is for you to be here."

"It's no more dangerous for me than it is for you."

"Yes, it is." Kairi looked away.

Fred ran his finger down her jawline and pulled her face back to his in a gentle kiss. "I'm not leaving. I'm sorry that you're mad at me, but once I found out where you were and what you were doing I knew I had to be here for you."

"I'm not mad, just scared. If Death finds out what you mean to me..." Kairi trailed off, not wanting to think of Fred's fate if Death knew who he was.

"I promise I can handle myself. I'm not scared of Death."

"You should be."

"But I'm not." Fred kissed her again. "I love you, princess, and I'm here to be your knight in shining armor. You think I would let you go on this adventure without me?"

Kairi giggled. "I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised that you showed up. Though I am surprised that got Sam here. This doesn't exactly seem like his cup of tea."

"Trust me, it was not easy getting him to come along." Fred shrugged. "But here he is."

They looked over at Sam and Cade, who were caught in the middle of a heated discussion. Kairi frowned, thinking back on their earlier conversation about Cade and Sam's relationship. She knew they were meant to be together. Kairi was never wrong about love. She believed that everyone deserved to find their special someone and to experience that magical happiness that came with it. Kairi couldn't just sit around while two people close to her were struggling to find that happiness.

"Come on." Kairi tugged on Fred's hand and lead him back to Sam and Cade. "We should stick together."

* * *

"What are you doing here, Sam?" Cade put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"Hey, I didn't want to come." Sam held up his hands in defense. "Joe and Fred made me."

Cade sighed. "Of course they did."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that dangerous adventures like this aren't what you do. Just go home. We both know you'd be happier there."

"But I-" Sam started, then shook his head. "I'm happier when I'm with you. I wasn't dying to get out here because I know you can fend for yourself. I trust you and I have faith in you." He grabbed her hand.

"That's not the point." Cade took her hand back. "I'm glad you think I'm capable of doing this on my own, but you should have come because you wanted to. Do you even care about me?"

"Of course I care! I came because- I wanted to-" Sam paused and took a deep breath. "They're not coming back, Cade." Sam offered her a sympathetic smile.

"Who's not coming back?" Cade squinted at him, confused.

"Your parents," Sam answered. "I know the reason you came on this insane mission is because you think there's a way they can be brought back to life. I wanted to be here to help you understand that."

Cade's jaw dropped. Her moment of shock ended and immediately turned into anger. "That's why you think I came here? Sam, I know my parents are gone. I'm not crazy enough to think that they are ever coming back." She shook her head in disbelief. "I came here to help my friend. Kairi needed someone to play the decoy as her debt payment. I can't believe you."

"Oh." Sam's cheeks reddened. "Cade, I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Save it." Cade held up her hand for him to stop talking. "I've heard enough."

Sam ran a hand over his face. This was not how this was supposed to go. He didn't like where his and Cade's relationship was headed. He really did care about her, even if their friends couldn't see it. He wanted more than anything for her to be happy, but clearly he wasn't succeeding in that regard.

"I hate to interrupt." Liam awkwardly stood next to them, apparently having heard their entire conversation. "But we really don't have time for this. The portal to purgatory isn't going to remain in its current spot forever. We need to get going."

Cade nodded. "Right." She stepped towards Liam, ready to leave.

"Purgatory?" Sam asked. "That doesn't exactly sound safe."

"We have to go, Sam." Cade frowned at him. "That's where Death is expecting to meet us."

"Death? You're going to meet Death? Are you crazy? You could die!" Sam fought the urge to drag Cade away from Liam. He'd drag her all the way back to New York if he had to. He just wanted her to be safe. He didn't want to lose her.

Cade fixed him with a long, hard stare. "I'm going. Whether or not you come with me is up to you."

The words nearly broke Sam's heart. "Don't make me choose like that."

"It shouldn't even be a choice! I love you, Sam, but this relationship is becoming too much."

His knees wobbled and the world spun around him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what you think it does." Cade turned to face him head-on. "Sam, I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry, but it's over." And with that, Cade stormed off into the fog.


	11. Separation

**11\. Separation**

Kairi was by Sam's side in an instant. "Where's Cade going?" Kairi's eyes were wide and she looked back and forth between Liam and Sam, waiting for an answer.

"She- She-" Sam stammered. He failed to form any words. The pain in his chest was too much. That didn't just happen. That couldn't have just happened. Cade didn't leave him. She loved him. Why would she leave him?

When it was clear Sam wasn't going to answer, Liam spoke instead. "She needed some time to herself."

"She can't go by herself. We'll lose her!" Kairi bit her lip.

"I need to go after her," Sam finally remembered how to talk.

"I think you've done enough, mate. I'll go find her." Liam turned and ran into the fog after Cade.

"Wait, Liam! No!" Kairi spoke too late. Liam had already disappeared. Her breathing picked up speed. "Sam, what happened?"

Sam's eyes were locked onto the spot Cade had been standing only moments before. "Cade broke up with me."

Kairi and Fred responded with silence. Both of their mouths opened in a small "O" shape and they exchanged expressions of shock.

"That's rough, dude. I'm sorry." Fred didn't really know what to say, but he felt the need to say something to comfort his friend.

Kairi shook her head. "No, no, no! You two are meant for each other. This isn't supposed to happen." Kairi wrapped her arms around herself and frowned, as if she was as upset as Sam.

"Well it did." Sam's eyes stung from holding in tears. "And now she's gone. Liam's going to find her. He'll comfort her, they'll fall in love, and then have hundreds of little Australian babies!" Sam's bottom lip quivered.

"That won't happen." Fred put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "They'll be back in a few minutes and maybe you two can talk things over."

"They're not coming back." Kairi hung her head. "It's nearly impossible to work your way through this fog and find your way back to where you came from. That's why it's so important we stick together and not travel at night." Kairi's head snapped up and she looked around, like a revelation had just hit her. "Where are Sydney and Joe?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Probably off _making up_ somewhere."

"I don't think even they would do that here." Kairi continued to search the area, and when she saw there was no sign of Joe and Sydney, groaned. "We can't be separated. We don't have time to look for each other and the portal to purgatory."

"We can do it." Fred pulled Kairi in for a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head in a gesture of comfort. Sam looked away, not in the mood to see other couples. "The portal can't be that far, right?"

"Liam said that-" Kairi froze as another realization hit her. "Liam's gone. He was my one way to find the entrance to purgatory. If I don't find it in the next four days, I'll die!" She ran a hand over her face. "This cannot get any worse."

"We can still find purgatory." Fred pointed at Sam. "Joe gave Sam _The Book_ , and there were maps of this place inside. It would show us how to get to where we need to go, right?"

Sam pulled _The Book_ out and flipped through the pages to find the maps of the Land of the Dead.

"Even if it does show where purgatory is, what about our friends? We can't just leave them!" Kairi looked around again, as if their friends would suddenly pop out.

"We will find them." Fred put his hands on Kairi's shoulders to settle her. "But it's more important that we get you to purgatory first. Besides, we all know that's the end goal, right? So they'll probably be heading in that direction anyway."

"I guess so..." Kairi sighed. "I just wish we didn't get separated in the first place. It's not safe here and it's almost night time."

"It will be okay, princess. I promise." Fred gave her a large grin. "You know our friends are tough. They'll get through this and we'll be back together before you know it."

* * *

Cade had only been alone for a minute when she realized her mistake. She shouldn't have stormed off like that. Black fog now surrounded her on all sides and she had no idea how to get back. Something told her you didn't want to be lost in the underworld.

She mentally smacked herself. "How could you be so stupid?" She muttered.

At least she was away from Sam. Cade had no desire to be around him right now, or ever again. The awareness of what she had just done hit her. She was a single woman now. Cade wanted to enjoy that fact, she hadn't been single in nearly eight years, but she only felt sorrow. Eight years of a relationship down the drain, and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Maybe it was a mistake to date Sam in the first place. But Cade loved him, and she couldn't help the way her heart ached at the mere thought of him right now. Breaking up with him was the right thing to do. It had to be. She couldn't take any more of their relationship. It had become too much like a parasocial interaction for her to be happy with it anymore.

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her and jolt of terror went through her. She spun on her heel and blindly struck out with her fist at whatever was behind her, hoping it wasn't another demon.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy there, dearie. It's just me." Liam held up his hands and paced over to her.

Cade sighed, relaxed her shoulders, and offered Liam an apologetic smile. "Sorry, this place makes you jumpier than a roo."

"No worries." Liam gave her an easy grin. "I've been here long enough to know this place is anything but friendly."

"I hate to sound rude, but why are you here?" Cade tilted her head. She expected Kairi to come running after her, crying over what Cade did to Sam and begging her to take him back. Liam was an unexpected, but somewhat pleasant, surprise.

"You seemed like you could use a friend. And it wasn't the best idea to go running off into the Land of the Dead alone." Liam looked over his shoulder. "I doubt we'll be able to find your mates for quite some time now."

Cade cursed. "You were Kairi's one way to find purgatory. You shouldn't have come after me."

"We'll find them soon enough. But it will have to wait until tomorrow I'm afraid. It's too close to night time to start a search."

Cade groaned and sat down on the ground with a heavy thunk. She buried her face in her hands. "This is all my fault."

"Don't talk like that." Liam sat down next to her. "You had every right to walk away like that."

"I just couldn't be around him. I feel like our entire relationship has been a joke. We should have been married by now. We should have kids by now. Sam knows how badly I want to have a family, and yet he still won't give it to me. I want to be glad that it's over, but I'm not." Cade closed her eyes and forced the tears not to fall.

"It takes time to get over a relationship. Try not focusing on it for a while."

Liam put his arm around Cade's shoulder, causing her to stiffen. A mix of emotions swirled inside her. She made herself relax. _It's not a romantic gesture_ , she thought to herself. _It's just a friendly, comforting one. No man would crack onto a girl so quickly after a break-up._

She decided it was best to change the subject. Liam was right, not focusing on her love life would help. "So, Liam. Exactly how long have you been here?"

"Oh about seventy years I think." He said it so casually, as if it was normal to be trapped in the underworld for that long and not look a day over thirty-five.

"What?" Cade leaned back with round eyes. "How is that even possible? Are you dead?"

"I'm really sure myself to be honest." Liam had a far-off haze in his eyes. He pulled his arm back. "I don't think I'm dead, but I wouldn't call myself alive either."

"How did you get here?" Cade shifted so that she could get a better view of Liam. Her inner scientist eager to learn more about him. At least, she hoped it was her inner scientist and not some other part of her.

"I was a captain on the HMAS _Dampier_ during World War II," Liam answered. "We were travelling to the states to deliver some supplies and the seas turned stormy. I was making sure my crew was safe when I got knocked overboard. The next thing I know, I'm waking up here, confused and scared as hell."

"You're a captain?" Cade analyzed Liam. That would explain his outfit. Now that Cade knew he was a captain, she could see that it was definitely a ship captain's uniform. "That's why you're so detailed about everything. Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"You never asked."

Cade was tempted to point out that she and the other girls had tried several times to learn who Liam was, but he had never answered. Cade resolved to let it go and instead chose to question Liam some more. After all, this would help her get over Sam. Right?

* * *

"You know," Sydney began.

"We never would have gotten separated from the others if I didn't show up?" Joe finished, giving her a pointed look.

They were sitting side by side surrounded by the dark fog. They had tried calling out to their friends several times, but to no avail. Night had arrived quickly and they had no choice but to give it a rest and wait until the next day to look for everyone else.

"I was going to say, I think this is the first time we've been alone together and you haven't tried taking advantage of it." Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Oh." Joe's cheeks reddened and he look down. "I mean, if you want to, we can-"

"No," Sydney cut him off. "I was just making an observation. We are not having sex in the middle of the underworld. Something tells me that wouldn't be a good idea."

"You sure?" Joe teased, his usual flirtatious gleam in his eyes. "We can't travel until tomorrow so we have plenty of time to kill."

"I'm positive." Sydney laughed. "This isn't going to be like our old Netflix nights where I try to watch a show and all you want to do is _cuddle_." She put air quotes around cuddle. "I never finished _Orange is the New Black_ thanks to you."

Joe winked at her. "I miss our Netflix nights." He brushed her hair back and let his hand linger on her cheek. His thumb slowly traced her jawline. "I used to count how long it would take before you finally stopped watching TV and did what we both know Netflix nights were really for."

Sydney scoffed. "Oh yeah? What was my record?"

"Well there were a few times you never even got the chance to press play." Joe dropped his hand and smiled like it was a great accomplishment of his. "But you only managed to hold out for an entire episode once."

"And you're proud of this I assume?"

"Very." Joe chuckled. "We haven't had a Netflix night in years. What happened to us?"

"We became adults." Sydney sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "We got married, started having kids." She paused as a thought came to her. "Speaking of which, where are our kids?"

"They're at my mom's. What? You think I'd leave them alone by themselves?" Joe fake pouted.

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"It only happened once!" Joe quickly defended himself. "And Jade was fine. She was too young to even remember that happening. Every parent makes mistakes."

" _Malum non esse,_ " Sydney mumbled with a small smile.

" _Ego operor meus optimus_ ," Joe swiftly responded.

Sydney gave him a look of surprise. "I'm impressed. I didn't realize you had been practicing your Latin so much. Maybe now time will obey you a little better."

Joe grinned and gave her a quick kiss. " _Speciosae sicut felis es_."

Sydney had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "I'm as beautiful as a cat?"

Joe rubbed the back of his neck. "I meant to say flower."

Sydney shook her head and smiled. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get any words out, a familiar, eerie high-pitched screech filled the air.

Joe and Sydney were on their feet in a flash. A bright green ball lit up in Joe's hand. He protectively stood in front of Sydney. "Don't worry. I'll just stop it like I did last time."

Several pairs of glowing yellow eyes peered out at them from the smoke and more shrieks filled the air.

"Sure about that? I think it brought some friends with it this time."

"Um..." The light in Joe's hand dimmed. "Maybe we should..." He trailed off, not knowing what to do. He looked to his wife for help.

Sydney snatched Joe's hand in hers and stared at him head-on. "Whatever happens, do not let go."

Joe never had a chance to respond. She took off like a rocket, dragging Joe along with her. It took a second before Joe could gain his balance and stop stumbling. The sound of hundreds of feet chasing after them urged them on and made them run faster through the terrain.

The fog was darker than usual, making it impossible to see farther than three feet. They turned corners and slipped through cracks, but the sound of the demons coming after them remained. Several times they nearly crashed into an unforeseen wall. Joe tried to shoot them with time magic, but all he could do was blindly fire into the smoke behind them.

"Sydney, I don't know how much longer I can run like this," Joe panted.

"You want to stop?" Another screech filled the air as if to emphasize her point.

Joe winced and sprinted on. "No, but running clearly isn't working. How long before we end up in a dead end? We need a new plan."

"I can see that." Sydney yanked Joe to the right as they came upon another wall. "But unfortunately, we don't have a lot of options right now."

Joe bit his lip, knowing she was right. Still, there had to be at least one other option. He had no doubt the demons would catch up to them eventually if they kept going like this. "What if we-"

Sydney skidded to a stop, and Joe nearly fell on his face. His arms waved as he regained his balance. He stared at her, bewildered. "Why did you just stop like that?"

"I think I found our new plan." Sydney pointed straight ahead. Joe's eyes followed her finger and noticed that they had reached a dead end. A dead end with a portal in it.

"You think that's purgatory?" Joe took a moment to catch his breath and studied the floating oval before them. It was big enough for the two of them to walk through side by side. Dark blue smoke swirled round and round, making it look more like a tunnel than a flat portal. It seemed to be begging them to jump in.

"Doubtful. Liam said purgatory would take days to find. It must be the entrance to another realm." Sydney glanced over her shoulder where the cacophony of their chasers grew closer. "We don't have much of a choice."

"Can demons go through portals?" Joe had an uneasy feeling about this. The glowing oval reminded him too much of when Isis had shown him his possible futures.

"We're about to find out." Sydney laced her fingers through his. "Ready?"

Joe nodded and took a deep breath. Together, they counted down to three and leaped into the magical doorway.

And found themselves drowning underwater.


	12. The Sea of Dreams

**12\. The Sea of Dreams**

Sydney coughed up water out of her lungs only to have a wave crash into her and refill them and push her back under. The ocean spun her around like clothes in a laundry machine. She rag dolled, letting it push her around until the water settled and then kicked her way back to the surface. She spat more water out and tried to rub the salt water out of her eyes.

"I'm not sure if this is better than the demons or not." She let out a dry laugh, happy that they had survived. She floated on her back and sighed. The water felt pleasant on her skin and the sky above was a perfect blue, not a cloud in sight. She felt relaxed for the first time since they had arrived at the Land of the Dead.

Until she realized Joe never responded. With a violent thrash, she spun around and scanned the water for her husband. "Joe?" she called out. She received no response. "Joe!" She tried again, still nothing.

She was alone in the middle of an ocean. The water was too dark to see down into. She cursed and slapped the water, refusing to cry. Her eyes stung, but whether it was from the salt water or unshed tears she couldn't tell.

She glanced to her left and saw a strip of beach in the distance. A spark of hope flared within her. "You better be alive over there. If you died on me..."

She swam through the water as fast as she could. Joe would be alive, he had to be. This place would not take away another loved one away from her.

The rocky beach was despairingly empty and the moment she had escaped the water, the sky turned black and haunting. Sydney tried calling Joe's name again, but never heard a response. She collapsed to her knees and couldn't stop the tears from falling. "No, no, no," she cried.

She should have tried harder to get him to go home. Now this hell-hole had once again killed someone she loved, and someone was going to pay for it. She balled her hands into fists and wiped away her tears.

She wanted to hit something. Hard.

"There you are. Took you long enough."

Sydney spun around and saw that someone else had joined her on the beach. It was an old woman who stood with one chestnut coloured hand on her hip and the other on a wooden cane. She was short and in this pose resembled a tea pot. She frowned at Sydney, adding more wrinkles to her already wrinkly face.

The old woman snapped her fingers impatiently. "Let's get moving. We don't have much time."

Sydney remained where she stood. "Who are you?" she asked through clenched teeth. Part of her didn't even care who this lady was, she just saw her as something to hit.

"We don't have time for introductions, child. We need to take care of you before you kill us all." The ancient lady turned around and began to walk away. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking at me like I was a punching bag."

"Where are you going?" Sydney refused to move.

"Follow me and you just might find out." She continued on her way without looking back. "And we both know you're going to come eventually so you might as well do it now."

Sydney reluctantly left her spot on the beach and trudged along behind the odd woman. She focused on her anger. If she stayed like this, she wouldn't have to think about the fact that she was now a widow. She glared at the old lady's back the entire walk, most of which was spent in silence.

"He's not dead you know," the lady finally spoke up. "The Sea of Dreams is cruel, but it is not a killer."

Sydney stumbled when she registered her words. "What?"

"That husband of yours." She looked over her shoulder at Sydney. "He's not dead. I expect him to joining us very soon actually."

Sydney stopped suddenly. "Then why are leaving the beach? We should be there waiting for him." Her mind raced with a million thoughts. Joe was alive. The relief that washed through her was euphoric. "How do you know he's not dead?"

"We don't have time to go to the beach and wait for him." The woman waved for Sydney to keep moving. "And I know because I do. Don't you know who I am?"

"No." Sydney crossed her arms. "Because you didn't tell me."

"Oh, right." She cackled like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "I'm Sage and welcome to my home." Sage gestured with her cane to a small, dingy cabin. The wooden walls looked rotten and the entire shack leaned to one side.

"And why are we going to your home?" Sydney scowled, angry with Sage about taking her away from Joe.

Sage tsked. "You really should do something about that temper of yours. You're upsetting the shadows." She pointed to the shadows surrounding them, which had started to grow and reach out to them.

Sydney dropped her arms and looked down. "Sorry, that happens sometimes."

"You know, instead of suppressing and fighting that darkness inside of you, why don't you try controlling it? Don't bend to its will. Bend it to your will." Sage watched her curiously.

"But I-"

"Don't be afraid of the dark. You're an adult for gods' sakes! It can be a great ally if you let it. Yes, you're heart has been touched by evil itself, the greatest form of darkness. You are on the brink of insanity, and yet..." She shook her head. "You are a face of evil in the heart of darkness." She gave her a cold, dark stare. "But I can help."

Sydney paused for a moment, letting the old lady's words sink in. Was it really possible to control the darkness that had been churning inside of her for years? And what would control over it give her? A new weapon? A better life? She didn't think it was possible. And yet... "What do I have to do?"

Sage smiled, revealing several missing teeth. "It's simple. You have to go back to where it all began. Travel through your memories. Remember what you have forced yourself to forget and sort the real memories from the false ones. You've fought against the darkness inside of you for so long, it will not come gently."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

Sage chuckled, as if this was exactly what she wanted to happen. "Perfect."

Sage led Sydney into her house. The inside didn't look any better than the outside did. There were only three rooms. They were currently standing in a living room and kitchen area. Sydney assumed the other two rooms were a bedroom and a bathroom. She kept any comments about the interior to herself, not wanting to turn Sage into an enemy.

"So this whole controlling my darkness thing, how does that work exactly?" Sydney absentmindedly touched the injury on her forehead, almost forgetting it was there. The makeshift bandage she had made from her shirt was gone, presumably washed off in the sea.

"It works exactly how I said it did. You will have to travel through your memories to make the darkness obedient to you and to reconnect with it." Sage was rifling through a shelf filled with small vials and bottles.

"But what does that mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Sydney sighed, deciding that she would get no answers from Sage and too tired to force them out of her. "When do we start?"

"Now."

Sydney felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and then everything turned black.

* * *

The first thing Joe registered as he gained consciousness was the sound of laughter. It was light and reminded him of babbling brook. He distantly heard a woman singing, soft and lilting ahs filling the air. The noise echoed around him, preventing him from pinpointing its origin. It was a soothing melody, like a mother singing a lullaby to her child.

Joe struggled to open his eyes. He wanted to stay in this blissful state forever. He was afraid opening his eyes would ruin the ecstasy he was feeling.

He couldn't have been more wrong. As Joe sat up and absorbed the scene around him, his jaw dropped. He was resting on a small, flat piece of land in the corner of a large cave. It appeared to be one of few small spots in the cave that were scattered about. In between these dry areas was beautiful aquamarine coloured water. Joe couldn't tell how deep it was, but he couldn't see the bottom so he assumed it must be fairly deep. A small waterfall cascaded down into the water, creating a light mist. Joe was in an underground paradise.

But the appearance of the paradise wasn't even Joe's favourite part. No, that would be the lovely ladies swimming in the pool before him. A few were even lying near him on his small island, while others were lounging about on the other islands in the cavern. Their bodies were half submerged in water.

The ones closest to him giggled when they realized he was awake. Their brightly coloured eyes glimmered with amusement. They seemed surreal, as if they were a figment of his imagination, but the way his heart melted when they smiled at him made him know they were real.

"Hi," one said. She flipped her long, violet hair over her shoulder and grinned at Joe, the bohemian style waves fanning out over her back. And that was when Joe realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes. None of the girls were.

"Hey," Joe smiled back and tried his hardest to keep his eyes trained on her face. Her eyes matched the colour of her hair and seemed to flow like the water the lower half of her body was in.

"My name's Nerissa." She giggled at Joe again and rolled onto her back, fully exposing her chest.

Joe's face heated up, and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "Hello, Nerissa. I'm Joe."

Nerissa traced her fingers down Joe's arm. "I like you, Joe. What brings you to our home?"

"I, uh..." Joe paused. Why was he here? He remembered being submerged in water, but anything before or after that was blank. Something nagged at the back his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't be here. That someone else needed him right now. But why wouldn't he want to be here? This place was a perfect paradise.

Nerissa continued to run her hand up and down Joe's arm. "It's okay. We're just glad you're here."

"Oh?" Joe tilted his head, his interest peaked.

Nerissa nodded and gave him a coy grin. "It's been a while since we've had a man visit us. I'm so glad it's one as handsome as you."

Joe smirked and leaned in closer to his new companion. "Well I'm glad to help."

Nerissa giggled one last time before diving into the water. A large purple fishtail revealed itself and splashed down behind her.

Joe blinked. He was not expecting that. "You're mermaids."

"Mermaids, water spirits, maidens of the sea. We have many names," another woman lounging near him said. "Call us what you will. We are all the same thing, with the same purpose."

"And what is that?" Joe watched her, intrigued by her sky blue hair.

The mermaid winked at him and pulled herself out of the water. Joe stared mesmerized as her shimmering fish tale transformed into human legs. She crawled next to Joe and leaned in close. "To please and entertain the men of the sea."

She was close enough that Joe could see every small detail of her brilliant blue eyes. The nagging in the back of his head increased. "You remind me of someone." But no matter how hard Joe tried, he couldn't figure out who it was she reminded him of.

"Do I?" She tilted her head, her lips spreading in a small smile. "Well, I hope it's not someone who's waiting for you. We can't let you leave so soon. I'm Sybil by the way."

Something about her words bothered Joe, but he was quickly distracted by the other mermaids who were swimming up to him. Joe couldn't help but smile, enjoying all this attention from so many gorgeous women.

"So, tell me Joe. What can we do to please and entertain you?" Sybil placed her hand delicately on Joe's inner thigh.

Joe failed to find any words. His mouth kept opening and closing, but no sound came out. The mermaids giggled at his bashfulness.

Sybil chuckled and cupped his chin her hand. "Perhaps I can give you a few ideas."

Her mouth closed on his in a heated kiss. Joe was surprised by how swiftly and eagerly he kissed her back. He completely forgot that they had an audience. His hands roamed to where his eyes hadn't dared go earlier. A hungry moan escaped his lips as Sybil deepened their kiss by slipping her tongue in his mouth. She shifted against him and Joe felt something slip out of his pocket and land on the ground with a clatter.

Sybil moved the kiss from Joe's mouth to his neck, and he glanced at what had fallen out of his pocket. The screen of his cell phone was cracked, but had still turned on. Joe saw several unfamiliar faces staring back at him on the screen. He glanced at the sky blue eyes of the girl in the middle of the photo.

The memories hit him like a bullet to the head: fleeing from the demons, jumping through the portal, almost drowning underwater. He remembered feeling someone pulling him down farther, wrenching him away from Sydney. Sydney, his wife, who he was cheating on right now.

With a quick jerk, he shoved Sybil away. She splashed into the water with a howl. The other mermaids glared at him, their flirty smiles vanishing. His paradise lost its appeal. The crystal water turned dark and the once beautiful mermaids turned demonic and hissed at him.

"I'm sorry." Joe stood up and stumbled away. He suddenly felt light-headed. "I need to leave."

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that, Joe." Sybil had pulled herself out of the water. Her dainty fingers had elongated into razor-sharp claws. "You have something we need. Your life."

Sybil lunged at him, tackling Joe into the water. He thrashed around and barely managed to kick her off of him. He tried to swim back to the surface, but was dragged back down by another mermaid. He screamed as their claws dug into him, tearing apart his skin. He blasted them with his magic and it boosted him to the surface.

He gasped for air and started to swim away. He heard a screech and a searing pain spread over his back as he was lacerated again. He clenched his teeth and shot some more time energy at the mermaids, propelling him forward even more. He struggled to keep himself surfaced. Whatever Sybil had done to him when she kissed him had drained his energy and using his magic was only going to drain it further. He needed to find a way out of here.

He searched the cave as quickly as possible. There had to be a way out, but no way presented itself. He glanced at the waterfall, maybe there was an exit hidden behind it. It wasn't too far. Joe pushed himself as fast as he could through the water.

The mermaids increased their attacks. They dragged him under every chance they got and clawed every inch of his skin. He continually shot them and drove them off as best as he could, but he was getting weaker with every attack.

He kicked a mermaid with silver hair in the face and used his magic to push himself the final feet to the waterfall. He swam through to the other side and was relieved to see an opening that led out of the grotto and hopefully to safety. He dragged himself through the water and got halfway through the exit tunnel. He sensed something grab his leg and pull him down. He was forcibly twisted around and found himself face to face with Sybil.

"We don't like it when men try to leave us," she hissed. Even though they were underwater, Joe could hear her as if she were right next to him on land. "It's very rude."

Joe gritted his teeth and created the biggest energy ball he could muster. It hit Sybil square in the chest, but only succeeded to stun her and push her back a few feet. Joe was running out of energy fast, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Just staying above the surface was proving to be difficult.

An idea struck Joe out of nowhere. He just hoped he had enough energy to pull it off. He closed his eyes and recalled what Sydney had told him about half-warps. Just like a normal warp, but don't let it suck you away, right?

He pulled in the time energy around him. It was more difficult than he was used to given the fact that he was in water and almost out of fuel. He pictured the mermaid's cave, but put everything backwards so that hopefully Sybil would turn around and think she was heading in the right direction.

He opened his eyes and was pleased to see the illusion had worked. But he could tell it was weak and wouldn't last long. He made his way through the water towards the exit of his prison.

He heard a howl come from behind him and took that to mean that the mermaids had fallen for his trap. He swam faster out of the cavern. By the time he reached the exit, he was entirely out of breath.

And his problems had only worsened. The mermaids must have been using some sort of magic to keep the water inside the grotto at a low level. When Joe came to the end of the escape tunnel, he was met with a wall of dark blue water.

Another screech came from within and Joe had a feeling his illusion had worn off. He had no choice but to throw himself out into the open ocean and pray that he wasn't too far under.

With the last amount of energy he could muster up, he placed his hand over his Warp Wizard mark and shouted, " _Accelerare_!" In a flash, he was gone, shooting off to the surface.

* * *

 **A/N - Just so you all know, I'm going away this weekend so I'll be absent from the internet for a few days. I wanted to get this up before I left. Also, the Mystery Girl rewrite is almost done, so if for some reason you want to read the original, do it now because in a few days it will be gone forever and replaced with the rewritten chapters. There's more info on my profile.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! And don't forget to review!**


	13. Not-So-Happy Reunion

**13\. Not-So-Happy Reunion**

Cade had a new-found appreciation for detail. Liam's map had proven to be their most valuable resource. Not wanting to have any more run-ins with demons, they had chosen a new path to purgatory and were carefully avoiding any demon hot-spots Liam had marked on his map.

Once the night had passed, they were quickly on their feet and on the road again. Since they had no way of knowing where the others had gone off to, they had decided to stick to the original plan and head to purgatory. They were hoping that everyone else would be making their way there too and were relying on randomly reuniting with them at some point on the way there.

Cade had learned a lot about Liam in their short time together. He had been a captain for seven years before the crash had landed him here. His father was a soldier in the war and his mother had been a nurse. Other than that, Liam didn't have much of a family. He was an only child and during his years in the overworld, had never married. 'I was married to the sea and to my country' was Liam's casual response to the question.

"So those demons," Cade attempted to start a conversation. "Has anyone ever done research on them? Their behaviour reminds me a lot of Tasmanian devils. Almost enough to make me think the two might be related."

"Oh yeah?" Liam flashed her a smile. "We had a terrible Tasmanian devil problem when I was growing up. They kept attacking and eating our chickens. My dad had to set up a load of traps to kill them."

Cade paused at that. "But they're endangered." Technically, Tasmanian devils weren't classified as endangered in Liam's time, but killing animals like that made Cade uneasy. It wasn't right for people to harm animals without purpose.

Liam shrugged. "We had to eat."

"So did the Tasmanian devils," Cade mumbled under her breath so Liam wouldn't hear. "Did you know that Tasmanian devils yawn when they're confronted by something? They do it to throw their enemies off and make them think that they're not bothered by the threat. It's an interesting defense tactic that you don't see in other species."

Cade couldn't help but ramble on when she talked about animals. She was constantly learning new things about them and when she could, she shared that knowledge with others. It was one of the reasons she wanted children so badly. Passing around knowledge and teaching others was fun for her, especially with kids.

"Fascinating," Liam responded, though something in his tone told Cade he didn't really find it interesting in the slightest.

Cade sighed. She hated it when people didn't care or see how important all this was. _Sam would care_ , she couldn't stop the thought from popping up in her head.

Cade bit the inside of her cheek. Sam was gone now. She wasn't going back on her decision either. It didn't matter how much she already missed him, she had chosen to end it. She had done her best not to think about him since they had been apart, but if she was being honest with herself, she hadn't been doing a good job of it. Even now, when Liam failed to respond the way she hoped he would, she found herself thinking of how Sam would stop whatever he was doing and focus on her, the corners of his mouth turning up in a small smile as he watched her go on and on about whatever it was she had just discovered.

Cade shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. _Thinking about Sam will do you no good_ , she told herself. _I'm supposed to be getting over him, not reminiscing on our dead relationship_. She was going to have to find a new way to move on, because not thinking about him clearly wasn't working. So what was she supposed to do?

Luckily for her, Liam chose that moment to strike up a new conversation. "So what's the lucky country like nowadays?"

"I haven't been to Australia in years," Cade answered. "Not since I moved overseas to New York City with-" she had to stop herself from saying 'with Sam', "with my friends, but as far as I know it's still the same old Australia. Endless desert, deadly animals, and such."

Liam chuckled. "God, do I miss that place. There's nowhere like it."

Cade grinned. "It is a beaut of a place, isn't it?" She tried not to think about Australia too much. It always brought up painful memories of her parents, but maybe it was time she headed back home and got in touch with her roots.

"I have to say, it's nice having you around, Cade." Liam gave her a sidelong grin. "I haven't talked to a fellow Aussie in what feels like forever. Reminds me of being back home. It's a pleasant feeling. I like being with you."

"Really?" The words gave Cade's heart an unexpected flutter. "Same to you. Americans are nice and all, but it's not the same as chatting with another Aussie."

An idea abruptly popped into Cade's head. An insane and probably stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless. Liam was cute, and he seemed like he was a nice guy. So why not get over Sam by getting with Liam? Sometimes you have to be extreme to get the results you want.

Without giving herself time to think about it, Cade grabbed Liam's hand, pulled him into her, and kissed him hard on the lips.

* * *

"You know, this book actually has a lot of interesting information in it." Fred grinned as he scanned _The Book_. "Did you know that there are multiple dimensions?"

He, Sam, and Kairi were making their way to purgatory. Fred had spent a good portion of the walk looking through _The Book_ , while Sam and Kairi quietly followed along, hoping to run into at least one of their friends at some point.

"I used to tell you and Joe all the time that we should read that thing." Sam crossed his arms. "We could've learned how to use it years ago. Maybe we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place."

"Don't get snippy at me because you just got dumped," Fred responded before thinking about it. He quickly blushed and looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Kairi elbowed her husband in the side and gave him a pointed look before turning to Sam with a sympathetic grin. "Don't worry, Sam. Cade will come around eventually. She just needs time to herself."

"Except she's not by herself. She's with Liam," Sam grumbled, spitting out Liam's name with sudden venom.

"Nothing is going to happen between her and Liam. Cade loves you and she wants to be with you. Your relationship was just too," Kairi paused, looking for the right word, "too obscure for her to handle."

"But there was nothing wrong with our relationship!" Sam countered, his voice now carrying a hint of sadness. "At least, I thought there wasn't... We were happy."

"But not happy enough to propose to her?" Fred shook his head. "Mope all you want, but ultimately this is your fault."

"Fred..." Kairi spoke in a warning tone.

"Cade wanted me to propose?" Sam stared at them like the idea of marriage was an entirely new concept to him. "When did she say that?"

"Dude, she's wanted you to propose for years now. Are you sure those glasses are working? Because there's no way you can be that blind."

Kairi twisted her wedding ring. "She _has_ been hoping you would pop the question for a while now. You know how badly she wants kids, Sam. She was hoping to have a family by this point. She was beginning to think that you weren't interested in her anymore, and well," Kairi and Fred gave each other worried looks, "we all saw where she was coming from and we kind of agreed."

"Oh." Sam's shoulder sagged and he focused on the ground.

"But I still think you two are meant for each other!" Kairi quickly added. "And I know Cade would take you back in a heartbeat if you promised to marry her. Um... you do want to marry her, right?"

"Of course I do!" Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "But we're both so busy with our research and I didn't think we needed to be married so soon."

"You're twenty-six. You've been dating for eight years. How long do you have to wait before it's not considered 'so soon'?" Fred rolled his eyes and went back to looking at the map in _The Book_.

"I hate to say it, but Fred has a point." Kairi gently patted Sam's shoulder. "If you really want Cade back, all you have to do is talk to her. Communication is key in relationships. And if you really want to marry her like you said you did, I would start the conversation with that."

"I can't believe I've been so stupid." Sam buried his face in his hands. "No wonder Cade hates me."

"She doesn't hate you," Kairi tried to reason with him. "You just need to show her that you love her, and you can start by actually saying it." She mumbled the last bit under her breath, but Sam still heard her.

"I tell her I love her all the time." Sam thought back on it. He told her he loved before she left for this crazy adventure, hadn't he? Even if he didn't there were plenty of times before that when he had said 'I love you' to her, right?

"No, you don't." Kairi bit her lip. "Cade says 'I love you' and you say 'you too' back. That's not the same."

Sam groaned. It was a miracle Cade had stayed with him as long she as did. "You're going to help me get her back, right?" He looked to Kairi for help.

"Of course!" Kairi beamed, excited to be playing matchmaker once again. "Just do exactly what I say and Cade will be back before you know it."

"Cade's already back," Fred said distractedly.

"That's the spirit, prince!" Kairi wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "Sam's going to have Cade again in no time."

"No, I mean she's literally back." Fred pointed straight ahead of them.

Kairi followed Fred's finger to see what he was talking about. She squealed in delight as she saw a familiar mass of curly red hair walking a few yards ahead of them. "Cade!" Kairi shot off like a bullet to greet her friend.

Cade turned around just in time to be tackled in a suffocating embrace by Kairi. She felt all the air get forced out of her lungs and had to push Kairi off of her. "Hello to you too, Kairi." She took a deep breath to refill her lungs and gave Kairi a weak smile.

"You're okay! I was so worried when you ran off like that. Don't ever do that again!" Kairi scolded Cade like she was a mother scolding her child. "What have you even been doing this whole time?"

Cade tilted her head down at the ground. "Nothing. Liam and I were on our way to purgatory hoping that you guys would be there too, but apparently we ran into each other early."

"This is amazing! Now we just have to find Joe and Sydney and we'll have everyone back together again." Kairi clasped her hands together.

"They got separated too?" Cade frowned.

Kairi sadly shook her head. "Yeah, but if we found you, I'm sure we can find them too!"

"Kairi, I need to talk to you about something." Cade started, making sure to keep her voice low.

Fred and Sam jogged up to them, preventing Cade from saying anything else. Sam offered his ex-girlfriend a hopeful smile. He awkwardly held his hands behind his back. "Hi, Cade. I'm glad to see you're okay."

Cade's frowned deepened, and she turned her head away with a huff. "Sure you are."

"It's good to be reunited again," Liam spoke for the first time. "It's one less thing to worry about. Now we just have to get you to purgatory, and all our troubles will be solved."

Sam kept his eyes on Cade, who had yet to look at him. "Yeah, all our troubles..."


	14. Memories

**14\. Memories**

A forgotten scene unfolded around her. A large, open area that resembled a city dump for museums slowly began to form. Yellow smog swirled around the outskirts of the room. There were piles of historic relics and a destroyed knocked over throne made of clocks and hourglasses that she was currently hiding behind. She was crouched facing a very young version of Joe, who did not look happy in the slightest.

"If there was another way, I'd do it, but the truth is that there isn't. You know it too. I don't want you to be around when it happens either. So, for the last time, get out of here." The words came from Sydney's mouth, but she couldn't feel her lips moving. Her body moved in ways she couldn't control. She was only here as a viewer, trapped inside her own subconscious. It was like watching a movie of her life.

"I will burn this whole place to the ground if you don't come out this instant!" a sudden high-pitched voice erupted on the other side of the fallen throne. It was followed by a string of curses. Even though she hadn't heard that voice in years, Sydney recognized it right away. Joe's insane uncle, Mad Jack. The first person Sydney had killed, and one of the few who actually deserved it.

"Maybe we can..." Joe trailed off. Sydney could see Joe's mind hard at work, desperately trying to find an alternate solution. One that didn't result in Sydney's death. They both knew there wasn't, but Sydney didn't have the heart to tell him that. He was as determined to save her as she was to sacrifice herself. Sixteen years later, Joe still did everything he could to save Sydney from herself. How little life had changed for them.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be." Sydney could hear the heartbreak in her voice. Again, the sensation of talking but not talking came. It felt weird, like someone had taken over her body and was controlling it without her consent.

"You are not doing that," Joe responded defiantly.

He had that hard-set look in his eyes that he got whenever he tried to counter Sydney's stubbornness with his own. It was the same look he'd given her, or would give her, five years from now when he'd help her in her battle against Kerk. Sydney had always thought that was the moment she fell in love with Joe, but maybe it wasn't.

"Joe, please." The memory went momentarily black as the past Sydney shut her eyes, planning out her next move.

"No! I've made my opinion very clear and you are not- _oomph_!"

Without hesitation, Sydney had pulled Joe in and pressed her lips against his. The strangest sensation of all was kissing her future husband and not being able to feel it. But she remembered how the kiss had felt, warm, passionate, and right. As quickly as Sydney had kissed Joe, she pushed him away. She locked eyes with Joe. " _Te amo in toto corde meo_!"

The memory version of herself took one last glance at Joe and ran around to the other side of the throne. Joe didn't follow, and he wouldn't come to his senses until it was too late.

Sydney wanted to scream at her younger self. To tell her there were alternatives. That it wasn't too late to turn back. She didn't have to die and if she had known what would become of this, she never would have considered it. But there was nothing she could do. This was a vision of the past, and it was set in stone.

"There you are!" Mad Jack exclaimed as Sydney revealed herself to him. "It's about time. What is with you time gods and making everyone wait all the time?" He paused and glanced around behind Sydney. A slight frown came to his lips. "Where is the other warp runt?"

"You don't need to worry about him." Sydney wanted to hit her younger self. She was twelve. She wasn't supposed to be stupidly sacrificing her life for cute boys she just met.

"Oh, really? No matter, I will take care of him after I'm done with you." Mad Jack aimed his glowing cane sword at Sydney. "Unless of course, you've come out here to tell me you changed your mind about being my assistant?"

"Never." Sydney didn't hesitate with her answer. Her fists clenched. Sydney had never liked being bossed around, and she sure as hell wasn't going to sign up to be anyone's assistant.

He let out a low chuckle. "As you wish. It's your funeral. I feel a little bad for him. He won't get to watch his girlfriend die."

"If I go, I'm taking you with me." Sydney wanted to close her eyes, desperate to not see what came next, but she was forced to see the next event. What would dying in a memory feel like?

Mad Jack hesitated and tilted his head at her. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

" _Veniat ad me, nam nos unum sumus. Hoc erit finis._ "

"What are you saying? Stop it at once! Why is your entire body glowing? Cut it out!"

" _Opportunum advenisse tempus pro explosionem tempus._ "

The chant had invoked all the power within Sydney's body. Her eyes lit up that usual time green colour and her veins all became visible as the time energy ignited within her.

The last thing Sydney could hear before she faded away, was a distant voice yelling, "No!"

* * *

Joe woke up on a rocky shore. His body felt like it was on fire. He had no doubt that the mermaids had lacerated every inch of his skin. But he had made it out, and that's what mattered.

He groaned as he tried to push off of the ground, his body resisting any sort of movement.

"I was wondering when you'd show up. You're late."

Joe jumped at the sound of the mysterious voice. For a moment, he thought it was Isis talking inside his head again. He looked up to see a short, rotund woman standing before him. "Who-" Joe began.

The woman turned and began to walk away, her cane helping to propel her forward. "Come along. You've wasted too much time as it is. Your wife is waiting for you," she said impatiently.

Joe had a million questions on the tip of his tongue, but at the mention of Sydney, they all vanished. He forced himself to stand, which was a lot easier said than done. His body still burned and Joe was wondering how long this pain would last. He followed after the woman, every step sending new jolts of pain through his body.

Joe clenched his teeth as soon as he put weight on his right ankle. He looked down and spotted deep bite marks on his ankle. Blood and a dark blue liquid were oozing out of the wound. His veins were prominent and slowly turning black. Joe winced. That couldn't be good.

He heard the old lady tsk in front of him. "Poison. I should have something for that. We'll need to treat that right away or you could lose your entire leg. I should also have a cream to help with those scratches. Pesky creatures those mermaids. I never liked them. Always thought they would make better wall mounts."

Joe managed to catch up with the old lady. "How did you know I was with mermaids? And where is Sydney?"

The woman gave him a toothy grin, revealing several missing teeth. "You don't live on the edge of the Sea of Dreams without becoming familiar with its creatures. As for your wife," the woman turned forward, "she's waiting for you back at my home."

"She's okay? After we jumped through the portal, I don't know what happened. We were in danger and I-"

"Quit your blabbering boy. Your wife is fine for now."

"For now?"

"She has just begun her journey. If you would pick up the pace, you can join her. I should be able to get you in no problem." The lady walked ahead without giving Joe the option of lagging behind.

"Get me in?" Joe hissed in pain as he ran to keep up with her. "What are you talking about?"

"Old Sage knows what she's doing. Don't worry that handsome little head of yours."

Joe tried not to focus on the creepy fact that some random old woman had just called him handsome. Instead, he tried to get more answers. "What type of journey is she on? How are we supposed to catch up with her if she's already started?"

Joe was answered by a quick smack to the back of the head by her wooden cane. "Enough with the questions, boy. My house is right up ahead, and we'd get there sooner if you would stop talking."

Joe grumbled to himself, rubbing the back of his head. She had managed to find the one spot that wasn't hurting him already. He decided it was best if he kept his mouth shut for the rest of the walk.

The woman, Joe thought she had said her name was Sage, briskly moved forward. They arrived at her house a few minutes later. The place looked like it belonged in some bayou, not surrounded by onyx shadows where terrifying screeches and maniacal laughter constantly emitted from.

"You live here?" Joe paused to take in the house and its surroundings.

"Of course I do. Where else am I supposed to live? The Land of Nightmares may not be homey, but it's better than any other location in this godforsaken place." Sage continued on into her house.

Joe followed her inside and was met by the scent of a thousand herbs, making his nose tingle. His eyes examined the cabin-like home. "So where's Sydney?"

"Through there." Sage pointed to a line of glittering beaded curtains in the corner of the main room.

Joe moved before he even thought about it. He had to see that Sydney was okay. She had to know that he was alive.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her laying peacefully with her hands place on her chest on a musty old cot. She reminded him of Sleeping Beauty, if Sleeping Beauty had been kept in some back-of-the-woods cabin by a weird old lady. This seemed more like a scene in a horror movie.

"Sydney..." He sat down on the floor next to her. He stretched his hand forward, wanting to touch her.

 _Thwack!_

"Ow!" Joe yelped as Sage batted his hand away with a wooden cane. "What was that for?"

"Do not wake her. She needs to remain in this state for at least another day. Waking her could destroy her mind, completely shattering her." Sage held a silver coloured liquid in her hand.

"Another day?" Joe thought about their impending deadline. How much time had passed since they had arrived? Did they even have a day to spare? "I thought you said she was on a journey?"

"She is on a journey through her memories and soon you will be joining her, son of Isis."

"Son of-" Joe shook his head, not even bothering to ask how she knew he was a Warp Wizard. He looked at Sydney. "Journey through her memories? And what do you mean by join her? I'm right here."

"You may be here, but you are far from where she is. She is in her memories."

"What are you-" Joe collapsed on the floor with a hard thud. Staring at Sydney, he hadn't seen Sage move closer to him, ready to strike.

Sage stood above him, triumphantly holding her cane above her head. She let out an amused laugh. "That never gets old." She carefully propped his body up on a cot lined up next to Sydney's, injected a silver liquid into his neck, and tied one end of a glowing string around his ring finger and the other end around Sydney's. "Now you are with her."

* * *

 **A/N - I start classes tomorrow so updates will be not as frequent. I will try to get at least one chapter up per week. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review and share!**


	15. Another Side, Another Story

**15\. Another Side, Another Story**

Another night in the Land of the Dead. The group had pushed on as long as they could to make up for all the time they had lost, but their journey for the day was forced to end when it became too dangerous to keep going. There were three days remaining before Kairi's deadline and they were going to be cutting it close.

The conversations throughout the day had been awkward to say the least. Ever since they reunited, Kairi had tried in vain to get Cade to talk to Sam. Every time Cade had brushed him off and chose to chat with Liam instead, though Cade was doing her best to get Kairi alone to speak with her in private. That night, when they were preparing to lay down, Cade dragged Kairi away before she had the chance to pull Sam into the conversation.

"What are you doing?" Cade put her hands on her hips and frowned at Kairi.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kairi feigned innocence. She clasped her hands behind her back and focused on her shoes.

"Yes, you do. Stop earbashing me to talk to Sam. I have no desire to speak with him at the moment. I've wanted to talk to you all day. Just you." Cade's arms dropped to her sides and she sighed. "Some... things happened when I was alone with Liam earlier."

"What kinds of things?" Kairi stared at her friend earnestly. "Did you learn more about him? Is he dangerous? Should we not be trusting him?"

"No, nothing like that," Cade interrupted before Kairi started to yabber. "Well, I did find out more about him, but he's a good guy. We can trust him. But I may have done something stupid and now I don't know what to do."

"Stupid? Cade you don't do stupid things. What are you talking about?" Kairi tilted her head and studied Cade. "What happened between you and Liam?"

Cade bit her lip and looked away. "I kissed him."

"You what?!" Kairi raised her voice, earning curious glances from everyone else around them. "Cade, how could you do that?"

"Shh!" Cade covered Kairi's mouth with her hands. "Keep quiet. I don't need the whole world knowing. I know it's bad. I acted like a total drongo, but that's why I want to talk to you. Can you promise me you'll be quieter?" Cade waited for Kairi to nod before lowering her hands.

"What were you thinking? Why would you kiss Liam?" Kairi paused for second. "How was it? What did he do?"

"I was looking for a way to get over Sam and move on. I couldn't get him out of my mind so I decided the best thing to do was to kiss Liam, so I did. It was... nice? I don't know. I know I _wanted_ it to feel nice, but it felt wrong. And he-" Cade cut herself off, and her cheeks turned cherry red.

"What?" Kairi leaned forward. "Did he try to take it further? Did you do more than kiss him? I understand you wanted to get over Sam, but that's taking it a bit too far don't you think?"

Cade rapidly shook her head. "We didn't do anything else, I swear. We kissed and that was it. But his response wasn't exactly what I was hoping for."

"What did he say?" Kairi's eyes went over to Liam, as if staring at him long enough would reveal the answer.

"Well, Liam has never been married to a woman or even had a serious girlfriend. He politely explained to me that there was a reason he had never pursued a relationship with a girl." Cade rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to shake the embarrassment off of her.

Kairi's eyes widened. "You mean he's... _Oh_." Kairi looked at Liam with renewed interest. "Yeah, that wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done. Though I can't say I would've figured that out either. I've met a lot of gay men in my line of work and none of them behave like Liam does."

Cade shuffled nervously. "I apologized afterwards, and he said it was okay. He understood where I was coming from. It can be hard to move on from a man sometimes."

"Yeah, I bet he knows exactly where you're coming from." Kairi snickered, but stopped when Cade glared at her. "Sorry, but you have to admit this is kind of funny. Come on, laughing about it will make you feel better."

A slight grin appeared on Cade's face. She buried her head in her hands. "How could I have been such a galah? I can't believe I did that."

"Do you really want to forget about Sam that badly? He's really sorry for the way he treated your relationship. He wants a second chance, Cade. Sam deserves it." Kairi kindly placed her hand on Cade's shoulder.

"If he wants a second chance, then he can show me how badly he wants it." Cade took a deep breath to push away any leftover traces of embarrassment. "Actions speak louder than words. I cannot go back to a relationship that is leading nowhere. I want a family, and I feel like I'm not going to get that from Sam."

The corner of Kairi's lips turned down and she fiddled with a strand of her light blonde hair. "You can't just take him back?"

"No. Maybe I'll give him a second chance, but he has to prove that he deserves one. And you are not going to help him do anything. I want it to be one hundred percent Sam. So no Kairi-meddling. Understood?" Cade crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Kairi.

Kairi reluctantly nodded in response. She felt like she had been demoted. "Fine."

* * *

Another memory.

This time Sydney was standing in a forest. It was too dark to see anything beyond the clump of trees that surrounded her. Nothing about the scene seemed familiar, but there wasn't a lot to see. The memory Sydney pushed through the vines and climbed over tree roots.

Sydney followed along, not like she had a choice. Being trapped in her own head was weird, but at least she didn't have to worry about doing anything. She tried to think of where she could be, but her mind came up blank. These memories were supposed to be tied to her darkness, so what was so important about this memory?

The dream Sydney continued on, unaware that a future version of herself was watching over her. She finally came to a small stream that seemed to glow under the moonlight. She splashed some water on her face and when the ripples settled, Sydney was looking at the reflection of a total stranger.

The anonymous face stared back at her with vivid violet eyes. Their inky black hair was cut into a sharp A-line bob and framed their tan face. Sasha Kila.

It took a moment for Sydney to recognize the face, but when she did, a deep hatred bloomed in her heart. Sasha Kila was her alias she was forced to use when Nicole entered her into fighting competitions where immortals couldn't compete or made her to do something that required her true identity to be kept secret. So which Sasha mission was this?

The first time Sydney had been turned into Sasha, she thought it was fun and exciting. She'd always loved acting, so this was basically just playing a character. She'd even gotten free laser hair removal for it. Nicole said that some missions would require her to be gone a long time and growing hair everywhere would just be a nuisance. It was great, until Sydney found out what these missions would entail.

The memory Sydney/Sasha left the stream and went back to trekking through the woods. If she was Sasha right now, this memory couldn't be pleasant. She pushed her way through a thick patch of bushes and tripped over a root. Her battle reflexes kicked in and she easily rolled and popped back up.

And came face to face a mauled clown. The memory Sydney screamed and stumbled back, even the present Sydney in her head was startled. The younger Sydney took several deep breaths to calm her racing heartbeat. She glared at the demented statue. "Stupid abandoned amusement park. They couldn't have taken out the freakish clowns before throwing us in here?"

Abandoned amusement park? Sydney wished she had the ability to pause her memories so she could get a moment to think. When would she have been in an abandoned amusement park?

The memory Sydney kicked the hellish clown statue. It crashed into the ground with a thunderous boom. She stepped over it and continued on her way. Twigs crunched under feet, and the night was eerily silent, not even a cricket chirped. She knew she needed to find a more open area. This forest was not a good place for her to be.

Many trips, curses, and clown statues later, she broke free of the woods and finally entered a large clearing. Tall grass sprouted up through broken up cement on the ground. Metal structures loomed overhead and leaned heavily to one side as if they would fall at any moment. A large decrepit roller coaster stood in the background. The track was missing in several places and the old train sat in disrepair halfway up the hill. A faded logo was imprinted on a massive circle nailed to the side of roller coaster support beams. The image was so worn that it was impossible to see, but the words Mienope FunLand were plain to see.

Sydney's heart stopped. Oh, _that_ abandoned amusement park.

She immediately tried everything in her power to make the memory version of herself backtrack, knowing it was futile. She couldn't even close her eyes to prevent herself from seeing what was going to come next. This was the last thing she wanted to remember. Not this, anything but this.

The younger Sydney started to explore the area, completely unaware of what was to come. Sydney pitied her younger self. She'd do anything to be that innocent and naive again, but she was about to lose any of the childlike ignorance that she still held onto. Sydney relented and sat back, knowing there was nothing to do but watch. Sage was making her relive this for a reason. She had fought the darkness in her for so long that she needed to get reconnected with it. No matter how much she didn't want to see it, it had to be done.

The memory Sydney had made her way over to the dilapidated roller coaster. Her intent was to climb to the top of the ride to get a better vantage point of her surroundings, but once she got close enough, she could tell that that was impossible. The metal beams were too unstable for her to climb on. There was no way she'd make it to the top without falling. She sighed and began to think of a backup plan.

Before anything could come to her, a stick snapped behind her. The dream Sydney tensed and spun around, ready for a fight. She hated being forced to compete in these fighting tournaments, but she had to survive. She always made sure the injuries she inflected weren't serious.

Sydney mentally sighed. How long had that rule lasted? It had worked the first few fights she'd been in, but things changed. The injuries became more serious and sometimes permanent. It wouldn't be long before she was willingly killing others.

A young girl stepped into the moonlight. She must have been hiding under the roller coaster somewhere, because this was the first time memory Sydney had seen her. She couldn't have been more than eight-years-old. She had copper-toned skin and large brown eyes. Her mousy brown hair seemed tangled on top of her head.

The younger Sydney paused, but made sure to keep her guard. She was awfully young to be in a competition like this. Sometimes the locations of the fights were near cities populated by locals. Maybe she had wandered over accidentally? She hadn't done enough research on Mienope history to know if this world even had people living on it. She took a moment to study the girl before making any moves.

"Hello, are you from here?" The memory Sydney asked. When the small child didn't respond, Sydney continued. "My name's Sasha. Who are you?"

At first, it seemed like the girl wasn't going to respond, but after a minute she quietly spoke up. "My name's Isabel."

* * *

 **A/N - If you don't remember who Isabel is, you might want to reread chapter 11 of The War of Time.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to favourite and review!**


	16. The Death of Innocence

**16\. The Death of Innocence**

Everything came into view for Joe slowly, like he was entering a dream. He stared at his new surroundings in shock. One second ago, he had been standing over Sydney's sleeping figure in Sage's home. Now he was stranded in the middle of what appeared to be a decrepit amusement park. It reminded him of Coney Island during its off season, empty and eerie.

 _Where the hell am I?_ Joe asked himself. He tried to move his legs, but discovered he was stuck in place. His heartbeat rose with panic. What was going on?

Joe's head swiveled in all directions, looking for anything that would answer his questions. The rest of the scene gradually came into focus. Joe found himself facing two young looking girls. One appeared to be older than the other. She had short and sharply cut black hair and stared at the younger girl with piercing violet eyes. The smaller girl had messy brown hair that looked like it had never seen a comb. She returned other girl's gaze with soft hazel eyes.

Joe opened his mouth to ask them where they were and what was going on, but no sound came out. He tried again. Nothing. Joe closed his eyes and tried to think. Clearly, Sage had done something to him, but what exactly?

"Hello, are you from here?" The older girl's voice was cautious and carried a subtle steel to it.

At first, Joe thought she was talking to him, but he quickly realized that she wasn't even looking at him. Did the girls see him at all? Was he even really here? Joe had too many questions and not enough answers.

The younger girl didn't respond, and the other one continued, "My name's Sasha. Who are you?"

The little girl remained silent, as if she was debating whether or not she wanted to answer. "My name's Isabel," she finally spoke in a quiet voice. She fiddled with her hands nervously and kept subconsciously touching her right hip. The name rang a bell to Joe, but he couldn't place it right away.

Sasha noted the touching with interest. She was seeing something Joe wasn't apparently. "You're a competitor?" Her eyes widened and a frown came to her lips, like she was appalled by the idea.

Competitor? Joe wished he could speak to find out what was going on. None of this was making any sense to him. What was it Sage had said? Sydney was on a journey through her memories? If Sage had somehow gotten Joe to join Sydney, that would mean he was in the past. But if this was a memory of Sydney's, where was Sydney?

Joe shook his head. That couldn't be right. It was impossible to put a person in someone else's memories like this. Then again, Joe had seen enough impossible things come true to know that nothing was off limits. He _was_ a time traveler after all. Was he really living one of Sydney's old memories?

Isabel rapidly blinked her eyes and turned her face away. "I was supposed to be teaming with my sister, but I lost her in the woods. Can you help me find her? I promise we can be allies. After we find my sister, you can stay with us, or we can avoid each other until the game is over. We'll get less points, but I don't mind."

Sasha's hard-set eyes locked onto Isabel, studying her little movements and judging each word carefully. Her eyes kept darting to that spot on Isabel's waist. Now that Joe was paying attention, he could see a small bulge protruding from underneath Isabel's shirt. What was she hiding under there?

Sasha was apparently wondering the same thing, because it took a while for her to answer. "We'll stay on the outskirts of the woods. I'll only help you look for an hour. If we find your sister, I'm gone, and I don't want to see either of you for the rest of the match. Understand?"

Isabel's tiny head nodded eagerly. "Thank you. The last place I was with my sister was over there." She pointed a small finger over Sasha's shoulder toward a thick patch of woods. "But the bushes are really dense, so we'll have to stick close together."

"Fine," Sasha curtly responded. Even from a distance, Joe could see how guarded she was being. Her eyes seemed to be constantly analyzing Isabel. It reminded him of Sydney's eyes during one of their practice sparring sessions or when she was watching a group of her dancers perform.

Sasha sharply turned on her heel and marched with precise steps toward the area of the forest that Isabel had indicated. "Stay close. If I lose you, I'm not coming back for you. The rules are everyone for themselves. The longer we're together without conflict the more points I lose. I'm not allowed to lose this."

Isabel practically tripped over her own feet in an attempt to keep up with Sasha. "I understand. If we don't find my sister soon, you and I can fight so you can get your points back."

Sasha winced at Isabel's words. "Let's just focus on finding your sister for now."

The girls pushed on into the woods. Compelled by an unseen force, Joe was forced to follow them. His feet moved without his permission, and he never got farther than ten feet away from them. He moved through the shrubbery with ease, as if it wasn't even there for him. Joe sighed, defeated, and went along for the ride. If nothing else, it would give him some answers as to what was happening.

Sasha and Isabel searched the woods in silence. They both agreed it was too risky to call out for Isabel's sister because other fighters might hear them and track them down. Joe was right behind them every step of the way, not like he had choice, but he picked up that this was a fighting competition of some sort, and the winner was determined by whoever had the most points at the end. You earned points by winning fights, and you could lose points by establishing friendly relationships with other competitors. There were probably others rules, but Sasha and Isabel didn't bring them up. Joe had no idea why someone would want to do this. It seemed cruel.

Isabel eventually stopped touching her waist, and instead held her hand to the bulge. Since this was a fighting competition, Joe had no doubt that she was concealing some sort of weapon in the waistband of her pants. She may have been young, but Isabel was clearly here to fight. When Sasha wasn't paying attention, Isabel was giving her cynical looks and observing her just as carefully as she was observing Isabel.

It had only been fifteen minutes, but Joe was starting to wonder how long this would last. It couldn't be permanent. Sage wouldn't throw him into something like this forever, right? Unless she had tricked him like the mermaids did. He didn't know anything about Sage, but at the first mention of Sydney, he followed her like a lost puppy. Could it have been a trap? What would Sage gain from this? If she was like the mermaids, this dream could be draining his energy, but he felt fine. He actually felt better than he had when he was awake. In this state, he couldn't sense the sting from all the mermaid scratches poison. In fact, he didn't physically feel anything.

He continued to watch the girls scavenge the forest for Isabel's sister, but there seemed to be no sign of her anywhere. They trudged deeper into the woods, ending up in a small alcove. A decaying clown statue was tipped on its side. It greeted the girls with an unsettling smile and one broken hand outstretched. The stone hand was shattered, and only three sharp fingers remained.

The clown sent shivers down Joe's spine, and he looked away. Sasha and Isabel were both careful to keep their distance from the haunted clown. They scanned the new area for any signs of previous visitors.

"Are you sure you're team mate went this way? I don't see any indication that someone went through here." Sasha's calculating eyes kept on searching the environment, taking in every detail.

"I'm positive." Isabel nodded. Unlike Sasha, she was not looking around. Instead, she was keeping her attention locked onto the other girl. "My brother is really good at sneaking. He wouldn't leave any trail behind."

"Brother?" Sasha tensed up and focused on Isabel. Joe could see the mistrust in her violet eyes. "I thought we were looking for your sister?"

Isabel jerked, her eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on the object she was hiding. "She's both?" Isabel tried. "You shouldn't judge like that. It's very rude."

Sasha clenched her fists and scowled at the little girl. "Sure she is. Why did you do this, Isabel? Did you just want to partner with me so I'd lose points? You know that makes you lose points too, right?"

Isabel bit her lip, refusing to make eye contact with Sasha. She concentrated on the fallen clown statue behind her. "I need to win," she mumbled. Joe was standing next to her, and he barely heard her.

Sasha wasn't as close. Her head leaned forward, and she squinted at Isabel, whose innocent face had taken on little hints of anger: a furrowed brow, a tense jaw. "What did you say?"

Isabel's head snapped up without warning. "I need to win," she spat out with sudden venom. She brandished a jagged piece of scrap metal and raised it at Sasha's chest. Her entire arm was shaking. Despite the bitterness in her voice, she was clearly terrified of what she was doing.

"Easy there, kid." Sasha held up her hands in defense and kept her voice calm. Her eyes never left Isabel's weapon. "Don't do anything rash. I know killing can get you a lot of points, but it's not worth it. You don't want my blood on your hands for the rest of your life."

"I can handle it," Isabel barked out in response. Still, that uncertainty never strayed from her expression. She stepped forward, and Sasha took a step back. "I want to go home. This competition needs to end."

"It's been six days. You can't hold out for one more?" Sasha swallowed. Her hands stayed in the air. "Even if you kill me, there are eighteen other competitors you'll have to kill."

Joe watched the exchanged in shock. Isabel was a child. She couldn't seriously want to kill Sasha. This was insane! Why had Sage sent him here? He didn't want to see this. There had to be something he was missing about the situation.

For a single moment, it seemed like Isabel would drop her weapon. Her hand lowered an inch, but quickly flicked back up. The poor girl was terrified. She was acting out of fear. Joe could tell she didn't want to be in this situation, but she saw no other choice. "I'll do whatever it takes to go home."

In an instant, Isabel lunged. Sasha didn't have time to react. The metal sunk an inch into her chest. Isabel tried to force it in deeper, but her untrained muscles weren't strong enough to complete the task.

Sasha shrieked in pain. Joe had to cover his ears to keep from going deaf. He had to look away. He couldn't watch this happen without having nightmares for the rest of his life.

Sasha ripped the metal out of her chest and tossed it to the side. Her chest was oozing green blood, but she didn't seem to notice. Her attention was locked onto Isabel. The shadows around them seemed to lurch forward, anticipating what was to come. Sasha stalked closer to Isabel, who was visibly shaking from fear. "So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Sasha's voice took on a sudden venom. "Two can play that game." Sasha latched onto Isabel's shoulders and shoved her to the ground.

And directly into the statue's speared hand. The broken arm drove through Isabel's chest like a hot knife through butter. Blood spurt everywhere. Joe threw his head to the side, expecting to vomit, but dry-heaving instead.

Sasha stood over Isabel's dead body with a triumphant grin on her face. "I win."

Joe's mind raced. What had he just seen? Why was he even seeing it in the first place? He stared, open-mouthed, at Sasha. The pieces slowly began to fall into place. The green blood. The open wound just below Sasha's left collarbone. Joe abruptly remembered where he had heard Isabel's name before.

Sage had said Sydney was on a journey through her memories, and now that made sense to Joe. Sydney had once told Joe the story of how she got her scar on her left collarbone, and Joe had just witnessed it. Sasha was Sydney, and if every memory Sydney was reliving was anything like this first one, Joe was in for one hell of a ride.

* * *

 **A/N - I'm trying to alternate the main story-lines as best as I can, but sometimes the chapters end up being longer than I expected and so they get divided. Sorry about that! Don't forget to review! It means so much to me when you do!**


	17. Pawn

**17\. Pawn**

The halls of Draylon materialized around Joe. He prayed that this memory would be better than the last few he had been forced to witness. He had seen a dark side of Sydney he didn't know she possessed. He knew she had experienced the occasional episode ever since she had been Shadowed, but he never realized how terrifying those moments had been.

Nearly every time the darkness in Sydney had been triggered, Nicole was the one responsible. Joe had no idea what game Nicole had been playing, but she had made Sydney her prime pawn to face the brunt force of every attack. It made Joe sick to his stomach.

The past version Sydney paced down the hallway a few feet in front of him, and as with every other memory, he was pulled along behind her by some unseen rope. Her walk didn't last long. She soon stopped in the middle of the hall and took a deep breath. Her fingers twitched and instinctively reached for her wrist. She managed to stop herself before her scratching could break skin. She crouched low to ground, a green glow coming to her palm, and placed her hand on the ground. The glow spread from her hand to the lines in the floor between the bricks. A small square was outlined in the floor and the area slowly slid away to reveal an uninviting dark hole.

Joe wondered what was in the hole that made the memory Sydney so nervous. There was a slight tickling in the back of his mind as a memory attempted to surface, and he had the smallest sense of deja vu. Had he been here before? He quickly looked around the hallway before Sydney jumped down the hole. It looked like any other hallway at Draylon. Joe honestly had no idea how anyone could tell them apart and not get lost in its vast corridors. Still, the hole in the ground was familiar to him. He knew this room, and yet he couldn't pinpoint its name or why he remembered it.

With one final intake of breath, Sydney slid into the hole, pulling Joe with her. It took several moments for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Just when he was beginning to see things, a bright light flickered on, burning his eyes and blinding him. He may not have been physically there, but it stung like he was. After his eyes adjusted for the second time, he was able to see that he was standing inside a black metal box. The room reeked of antiseptic and reminded Joe of a hospital. The room was empty except for Sydney, a chair with straps hanging from the armrests and front legs, and Nicole.

Nicole stood in front of the chair, experimentally flicking a glass vial with purple liquid sloshing around on the inside. A long needle stretched out from the tip of the vial. She absentmindedly glanced at Sydney as she entered the room. "Don't take all day. You know how this goes by now. Get in the chair, and I'll inject the Pluphoria. We have a trial in two hours." Nicole impatiently tapped her foot and waited for Sydney to sit in the metal chair.

The tension was visible on Sydney's face. She swallowed the large lump that had formed in her throat and positioned herself in the chair.

Joe was surprised by Sydney's behaviour. This was not the strong and fiery woman he loved. This was a young teenager he had never met. She was uncharacteristically quiet and fearful, not at all like the fighter he knew her to be. What was going on here?

The straps were quickly tightened around Sydney's wrists and ankles. Nicole pushed Sydney's hair away from the back of her head and injected the purple liquid directly into the base of her neck.

Joe felt the effects of the drug hit him almost immediately. It was like he had taken a handful of sleeping pills all at once. The room blurred and all the sounds were muffled like he was underwater.

"You remember your lessons about the Warp Wizards correct?" Nicole disposed of the needle and watched her daughter expectantly.

Joe tensed. He knew this was only a memory, but the image of Sydney's violent reaction to finding out he was a Warp Wizard still frightened him. But her reaction now was surprisingly calm.

Sydney had to focus extra hard to speak through the Pluphoria. Her voice was strained. "They... they're a group of mortals who wield time magic and worship Isis."

"Close." Nicole pursed her lips. "They are a race of despicable and cruel people. They wrongfully wield time magic purely for their own gain. Their type of magic is tainted and impure. We have been at war with them ever since they were created, and it is imperative that you remember that they are the enemy. The enemy must of course, be destroyed. Today's memory should reinforce that belief."

Before Joe could figure out what that meant, the drugs pulled Sydney under, taking Joe with her.

* * *

"What if I take Cade on a trip back to Australia? Do you think that would work?" Sam adjusted his glasses and looked at Kairi eagerly. "I'm out of ideas, Kairi."

"Sam," Kairi whispered through clenched teeth. "I told you, I can't give you any ideas." She tried to walk ahead of Sam and join her husband near the front of the group, but Sam pulled her back.

"You promised to help me get her back. I love her, Kairi. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Tell her that, not me!" Kairi sighed and shook her head. " _Boys_..."

"But what if I don't get her back soon enough and she starts dating Liam?"

Kairi smiled at that. "Trust me, that's not going to happen. Cade isn't exactly Liam's type. Look, this _is_ me helping. Cade said she wants something that is entirely you. If I give you any ideas on how to get her back, it won't work. I'm sorry, Sam." She hurried away and fell into step with Fred, slipping her arm through his and kissing him on the cheek. Fred smiled down on her and kissed the top of her head in return.

Sam wanted to be angry at them and their happy relationship. Why had everyone else around him managed to end up with perfect lives in perfect marriages with perfect kids? Sam's eyes landed on the back of Cade's curly haired head. He knew exactly what had gotten him here. He had put his work first and wanted to make sure everything was in order before he and Cade moved their relationship any further. It was the logical thing to do. But love wasn't logical. In the process, he had ignored all her signs and signals that she wanted more, and he didn't appreciate her the way she deserved. How had they lasted as long as they did?

Sam shook his head to clear his thoughts and quickened his footsteps to catch up with the rest of the group. He caught the tail-end of Cade and Liam's conversation. He couldn't help the way his jaw tightened at the sight of them together. Just because he and Cade had broken up, and Sam was going to make sure that was only temporary, didn't mean Liam could waltz right on in and sweep Cade off her feet and away from Sam. So what if he was Australian, handsome, brave, and perfect for Cade in every way Sam wasn't?

"We need to make up for all the time we've lost. I know a short cut, but it's a little risky." Liam thoughtfully tapped his chin and skimmed the pages of his notebook. "But if we want to make it to purgatory on time, I'm afraid we have no other choice."

"It can't be that bad. What's the short cut?" Cade peered into Liam's journal and eyed his hand drawn maps.

Liam pointed to the path he was referring to. "It doesn't look dangerous on here, but it's bloody narrow. We'll be coming up on it soon."

"Narrow doesn't sound dangerous." Cade looked ahead to see if there was any sign of Liam's short cut. Sam loved the way her inquisitive eyes examined every detail. Cade believed there was something to be discovered round every corner, and if you weren't looking closely enough, you'd miss it. His heart panged from longing for Cade. How had he let her get away?

Cade's head turned over her shoulder, and she spotted Sam staring at her. His face immediately reddened. He offered a meek wave but all Cade did was shake her head and turn back around. "So what about this short cut makes it so risky?"

"It's ah... you'll see. It should be just around the corner."

They continued down the path and around the corner.

Liam gestured to a small crack in the wall. "Through here. Watch your step on the other side. I don't want anyone to fall."

"Fall?" The group grew nervous and eyed the crack with worry.

Liam slipped through first, followed by Cade, and then Fred and Kairi. Sam was the last to go. The crack was a tight fit for him. He had no idea how someone as big as Fred made it through. Sam's heart rate sped up as claustrophobia set in. He pushed himself the last few feet and breathed out a happy sigh of relief when he finally got out.

His relief vanished when he got a good look at his new surroundings. Everyone was crammed together on a small ledge. No one wanted to move and risk falling off the edge. The chasm that stretched out below appeared to be bottomless. After a few feet, the empty air below disappeared into the thick fog. The only way back to the main path was to carefully walk, pressed against the wall, along a skinny and crumbling ledge.

"This is your short cut?" Fred's eyes darted over to the edge to look at the trench below. Even he couldn't hide his fear. He tightened his grip on Kairi and took a step back.

"What happens if we fall?" Kairi asked reluctantly, already knowing the answer.

"Death?" Cade guessed.

"That's be right," Liam confirmed in a melancholy tone.

"What happens if we die in the Land of the Dead?"

"I'd rather not find out. Let's just get going."

One by one, everyone shuffled onto the strip of rock jutting out from the wall. Because of the size of the ledge they were currently on and how everyone was positioned, the order that they went was predetermined. Liam was first once again. Fred and Kairi went next, and Sam and Cade pulled up the rear.

Sam hesitated before stepping onto the narrow path. He wasn't the most coordinated person, and the chances of him falling were fairly high.

"Would you hurry up, Sam?" Cade impatiently tapped her foot behind him. "We don't have any time to waste. You'll be fine."

"You don't know that," the words slipped from Sam's lips.

"Sam..." Cade sighed. "You have to go sooner or later, and sooner is better than later."

Sam's fear of falling and his desire to make Cade like him again conflicted in his heart. In the end, he knew Cade was right, and he stepped out onto the ledge. He kept his back pressed to the wall, and his feet never left the ground. He shimmied along the wall at a slow and overly cautious pace. Cade moved in a similar fashion behind him.

"So, um... it must be nice to have a fellow Australian to talk to," Sam attempted to start a conversation. Talking helped him forget about his current predicament. As long as he didn't look down, he'd be all right. "I know how much you miss home sometimes. I was thinking that maybe when we get back home, you and I could take a trip to Australia."

Cade rolled her eyes. "Do you really think now is the time for this? If you want to talk about our issues, we can do it later when we're not walking over a bottomless trench. I meant what I said, Sam. We are not together anymore, and I'm not exactly in the mood to work on our relationship at the moment."

"But I want to be together again." Sam stopped and gazed at his ex-girlfriend with pleading eyes. "I miss you, Cade."

"If you want to be together, then you should have acted like it when we were together." Cade let out an angry huff. "And would you please hurry up? The longer we stand here, the more unstable it gets. I can practically hear it crumbling beneath our feet."

Sam wanted to argue, but he knew it was useless for now. He reluctantly picked up his pace. Everyone else had already made it to the other side safely.

"Look, I just want you to know that I do care about you, and I'm sorry I didn't show it more when we were dating." Referring to their relationship in the past tense hurt Sam more than he thought it would.

Cade didn't respond, not that Sam expected her to. He pushed himself the last few feet and nearly collapsed with relief when he got to the other side.

"Where's Cade?" Kairi asked concernedly.

"She's right behind..." Sam trailed off as he turned around and saw no sign of Cade. "What? She was just there. I swear!"

"Oh, no, no, no..." Kairi hurriedly shook her head back and forth. "We were so close. Maybe she had to turn around for some reason? She couldn't have fallen."

"I didn't hear her fall. We were just talking a second ago." Sam peered into the fog behind them. Cade wouldn't be gone. He had so much he wanted to tell her and do with her. Sam cupped his hands around his mouth. "Cade!"

"Easy there, mate." Liam glanced around nervously. "We don't want to attract any attention to ourselves."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sam glared at Liam. "Just keep going and pretend nothing happened? She could still be alive. We can't leave her. I won't leave her."

"Of course not, but we can't-" Liam cut himself off and looked away, a disgruntled expression coming to his face. "Five minutes. We'll wait and discuss our options for five minutes. Then we have no choice but to move on."

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry I'm late with this update. Life has been distracting lately. Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	18. This Means War

**18\. This Means War**

Sydney had no idea where she was. Every other memory she had seen so far, she had recognized. This time, she was drawing a blank. The short glimpse of Pluphoria didn't help either. Plenty of her black box training sessions had started the same way. But before she went under, Nicole had mentioned something about Warp Wizards. That caught Sydney's attention. Sydney still couldn't remember what happened that made her despise Warp Wizards so much. Maybe that was about to change. She eagerly watched the memory play out.

The memory Sydney was being led down a maze of hallways by a black-hooded man. Her hands were tightly bound behind her back. He was trying, and failing, to disorient her. Sydney wasn't supposed to notice, but he had led her down the same hallway three times and up and down the same flight of stairs. Her reputation had clearly preceded her. She would have been insulted if they weren't trying so hard. The only thing all the intended disorientation had accomplished was to familiarize herself with the building. Idiots.

The secret plan was playing out well so far, not that Sydney had been given many details about it. Nicole had instructed her to intentionally get captured by a specific group of people. The fact that she was a time goddess as supposed to attract their attention, and it had worked. A small display of time magic, and now she was in their grasp.

She was on full alert. No detail went unnoticed. Nicole's orders had been clear: gather as much information about these people as possible. Pay attention to any mention of time magic or time gods. Kill anyone who got in her way. So far, her escort had been silent, but the way he carried himself told her plenty. While his grip on her was tight, he was standing as far away from her as possible. He was terrified of her.

After several more hallways and stairwells, the hooded man finally led her into a small room. Unsurprisingly, they were not alone. More men and women in black robes surrounded them. Some had their hoods pulled down, exposing their faces. Sydney made sure to get a good look at all of them.

One particular man stood out to her. He stood directly in front of her with his hood down. His light hazel eyes bored into her, and she knew he was analyzing her as much as she was analyzing him. He had a glowing Egyptian eye mark on his left cheek.

 _Odd place for a tattoo_ , the past Sydney thought to herself. _And why is it glowing green?_

"Goddess," the man spoke with a venom filled voice. "I trust you know who we are and why we brought you here."

"I can assure you, I do not." Sydney raised her chin. Nicole had warned her to be extremely cautious and to not trust these people, whoever they were. "You're welcoming committee didn't exactly fill me in."

"You expect me to believe a time goddess was caught lurking around known Warp Wizard territory and had no idea?" His glare intensified. "Do you take me for a fool?"

"I do not know you well enough to make that judgement call, sir. I stand by my original statement. I have no clue who you are and until five seconds ago, I had never even heard of Warp Wizards." No wonder Nicole had given her little information before sending her here. The less Sydney knew, the safer she was.

A murmur spread throughout the group. The man with the cheek tattoo, apparently the leader of the group, silenced them by merely raising his hand. "We will see if she is telling the truth, and perhaps we can gain some information about our time god _friends_." The way he spoke the word 'friends' made Sydney think they were anything but friends. "Come with me, little goddess, and we will see what you know."

The room Sydney was carted off into was frighteningly similar to the black box room back at Draylon. She was forced into a chair, and though she wasn't tied down, cuffs were present to secure her if necessary. A plain wooden table was set up next to the chair. On it sat a single glass of water.

"Thirsty?" The lead Warp Wizard nodded to the glass.

Sydney eyed it with distrust as they forced her into the chair. "I'll pass, thanks."

The man chuckled. "For someone who claims to nothing about us, you sure are cautious."

"I'm a cautious person."

The man eyed her with contempt. "It's merely laced with truth serum. We have to make sure you're being honest now, don't we?"

"And how do I know you're being honest? What if you mixed in poison? Whatever the relationship between our people is, it's clearly not cordial." If Sydney's hands weren't tied, she would've crossed her arms. "You take a sip first, then I'll drink it."

"Nice try goddess, but I'm not the one being interrogated here." He snapped his fingers at the hooded figure who had rudely pulled her into the room. "You're the only one who will be drinking today."

The hooded person picked up the glass and held it to Sydney's face. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," they spoke gruffly.

Reluctantly, Sydney opened her mouth and allowed the drink to be poured down her throat. It was thicker than water and had a bitter after taste. Instantly, she knew there was more in the glass than truth serum. Her stomach churned, and she was overcome with nausea. What had she gotten herself into?

Her hands were quickly and efficiently untied and just as quickly attached to the chair by rope. Small circular stickers with wires attached to the center were placed onto her wrists and temples. The wires connected to a small box with a single red button on it that her interrogator held onto. She didn't need to ask what it was for.

"First question, what is your name and title?"

"None of your business."

"Wrong answer." He pressed the button, sending shocks of electricity directly into Sydney. The liquid they had given her immediately reacted and she vomited on the floor. Her nails dug into the armrests, and her body resisted any attempt to move. "Let's try this again. What is your name and title?"

"Sydney Tempus, Goddess of Time Magic," she spat out venomously. She noticed spots of vomit had splattered onto his shoes. She managed a grin and told herself she'd aim better next time.

"That's more like it. So Sydney, what brings you to our headquarters?"

"You dragged me in, remember?" Even though Sydney knew what was coming, she couldn't stop her sharp tongue. It was going to kill her someday.

The man pursed his lips and checked his annoyance. "You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be." He pressed the button once more.

Sydney's body went rigid as the electricity shot through her. The moment she was released, she doubled over and emptied the contents of her stomach again. She pulled her head back up. A sharp slap to the face greeted her. A hiss of pain escaped her lips as she waited for the stinging in her cheek to subside.

"Why are you here? Are you spying on us? The man grabbed onto her throat, preventing Sydney from answering even if she wanted to. "Answer me, time trash!" His grip on her neck tightened. "Our peace treaty is fragile at best. If the gods are spying on us, then out truce is over and it's back to full-out war between us."

He finally pulled his hand away so Sydney could respond. "I'm not familiar with the rules and restrictions of this treaty, but I'm assuming the gods won't be too thrilled if I return bruised and battered," her voice was raspy, and she gasped for breath every few words.

"Who said we were going to let you return? Even if we did, we have ways to keep you silent." A poison laced grin appeared on his face.

"As silent as the grave," she replied sweetly, matching his wicked grin with one of her own. "I'm obviously not going to answer your questions, so about you answer a few of mine instead?"

His smile dropped. "No. We're not playing any of your games."

"Then I believe we're done here." She nodded to her wrists. "If you would be so kind as to release me now?"

The button was pressed a third time. At this point, Sydney had nothing left to throw up and was left dry heaving instead. The electricity still sent her into a frozen state. She had to wait for it to fade before she could breathe again.

"Not so fast, goddess. We're not done with you yet. Even if you don't answer our questions, there's still plenty we'd like to do to you. We have so much to thank the time gods for. It'd be a shame to waste this opportunity."

"I'll give the council your thanks." Sydney gave her binds an experimental tug. They weren't too strong, but with the vomiting and electric shocks, she wasn't exactly in her best condition. If she did get free, there was no doubt that she'd have to fight the two men in the room with her. Her anger boiled within her. This mission had been a total bust.

"I had something else in mind." As he spoke he brandished a sharp dagger and held it under her chin. "I see you have a few scars already. How about we add to the collection? Courtesy of the Warp Wizards. I'm going to enjoy this. Let's see, to kill a time god, you simply must drain them of all their blood. I think I'll add a few cuts here and here." As he spoke, he made slow, deliberate cuts on Sydney's wrists. "And one final cut right here." He pressed the dagger into her neck, drawing a line of blood.

Sydney snapped. Her leg struck out and connected directly between his legs. Her arms yanked free of their binds almost too easily. She shoved herself out of the chair, stumbling as she did so. This would be a difficult fight.

The man she kicked doubled over in pain, his focus temporarily not on her. The other man, whose hood had fallen down, was in shock at the quick change of events. Sydney attacked while she still had the advantage of surprise. She fired a ball of time energy straight toward his face.

Unfortunately for her, the man recovered from his shock and merely grabbed her energy ball out of the air and chucked it right back at her.

Sydney dove to the ground and rolled out of the way. The shot sailed over her head and exploded against the wall behind her. Her eyes widened at her attacker. "What the.." She had to be hallucinating. How could he wield time like that? The only ones with control over time magic were the time gods. What the hell were these Warp Wizards?

"Confused?" Dark laughter arose from behind her. "You really don't know who we are, do you? Poor little goddess. You're in way over your head. It'll be a pleasure to torture you." His hand flared to life with green time magic.

Sydney stumbled back in fear. This wasn't right. Were these people gods? They couldn't be. None of them had the tell-tale green ring around their iris. And yet the two men around her were controlling time like they had been doing it their entire lives.

She shook her head. She didn't have time to think about this now. She could theorize all she wanted to later. Focus on getting out of here alive first.

She locked onto the door behind one of the men. She was in no condition to fight. Escape was her only option. She vaulted off the floor and shouldered the man standing between her and freedom. He swiped at her arm and managed to leave a trail of bloody scratches. Sydney growled, skid to a stop, and elbowed him in the nose. A sickening crack filled the room as he collapsed on the ground.

An explosion sounded behind Sydney. Her hands flew to her ears.

"Did you really think we would let you get away that easily?" The leader sneered and formed another time ball in his hand. "You're not leaving here alive."

Sydney clenched her fists, flaring to life with her own time magic. "We'll see about that."

He fired, and she dogged it with ease, charging under his shot and slamming him into the wall. She held her hands on the sides of his head. "This was supposed to be an easy mission for me. Get captured, steal some intel, and walk out of here unscathed. But you had to go and ruin all that didn't you? You just couldn't resist torturing me. I'm going to make you pay for that, you sick bastard!" She smacked her glowing hands into his head, making him shriek in terror, and slammed it into the wall again and again. His screams died off suddenly and Sydney dropped him to the ground. She didn't care if he was unconscious or dead. She spat on his unmoving body and stormed out of the room, never looking back.

* * *

 **A/N - This chapter provides some more insight on the Warp Wiz vs Time Gods feud. And since I didn't update last week, I'll try to get two updates this week.**


	19. Blood is Red, Bruises are Blue

**19\. Blood is Red, Bruises are Blue**

Cade groaned as the blurry world sharpened around her. She felt like someone had just tossed her in a dryer and put it on high spin. She pushed herself off the ground and waited for the pounding in her head to subside.

Stupid path. If Sam had hurried along like she told him to, she wouldn't be here right now. Cade felt a little guilty at the way she was treating Sam. She didn't want to be so harsh with him, but he needed to learn his lesson. Simple words and apologies were not going to be enough to win her back. And if she was being honest with herself, she still loved him and giving him the cold shoulder helped Cade say strong and not fall back into his arms so easily.

Where had she fallen anyway? Cade turned her head to the sky, or lack there-of. Black fog encompassed her on all sides. How far had she dropped? Clearly not all way to the bottom, she wouldn't be alive if she had. Luckily, there was a ledge for her to land on. Not-so-luckily, she had no way to get back to the others or even if they had made it all the way to the other side safely.

"Cade!" a voice echoed down the trench.

"Huh?" Cade looked back to the sky. That was reassuring. If she could hear everyone else, then she couldn't have fallen down that far. She analyzed the wall behind her. "There's always a solution, you just have to find it," she mumbled her mantra to herself. It was her motto and it had gotten her through plenty of tough times and tricky problems. Her mother used to say it to her all the time.

She hadn't been rock-climbing in a while, but she should be able to climb up the wall without too much trouble. She didn't have much of a choice. It was her only way back to the group. They couldn't get separated again.

"I'm okay!" she shouted back, hoping they could hear her. "A little bruise, but I should be fine. I think I can climb up the wall to get back to you."

"That's a relief!" Kairi answered loudly. "You sure you can make it back?"

"What other choice is there? Unless you've been carrying a rope with you this entire time, climbing is the only option." She studied the wall more closely and found a foothold to experimentally test her weight on. It seemed stable enough.

She started her climb, her muscles immediately aching from the effort. The fall had hurt her more than she had first realized. Her foot slipped off of a skull. She pressed her body against the wall and tightened her grip while she frantically searched for a new place to put her foot. She finally found a small rock jutting out from the wall and let the tension in her body fade. She was not off to a good start.

The thick fog surrounding her prevented her from knowing exactly how far she had to climb. She reached for the next ledge to pull herself up. Now where could she go from here? She looked ahead and tried to visualize possible routes. The closest object for her to grab onto was a bone protruding out from the rock, but she'd have to jump for it. It was risky. If she missed, Cade wasn't so sure she could land on the ledge again, and she had no desire to find out how deep this trench really was.

She loosened her knees and pushed herself away from the wall, keeping her center of gravity low. "You used to rock climb all the time back in Australia. You can do this," she gave herself a small pep-talk. She sprung, stretched her hands as far as they would go, and latched onto the bone.

And lost her grip. She screamed as she started to fall through the air. Her arm shot out and madly grasped for the bone, slicing herself in the process, but she managed to clamp down on the bone. A warm wetness spread down her arm. Cade tried not to think about how much blood she was losing. "We really should have brought a first-aid kit with us," she mumbled and forced herself to continue on with her ascension. She couldn't be far from the top now. If she peered through the mist, she could see the feint outline of four figures waiting above her.

Trying to use her injured arm as little as possible, Cade pulled her body up again and again. She stopped paying attention to how far she had to go and focused solely on making the next jump or climb. It was a pleasant surprise when a tanned hand reached down to help her up.

She extended her good arm and allowed whoever it was that offered their hand to pull her up. She came face to face with Liam and offered him a grateful smile. Her legs wobbled as she regained her balance. She glanced at her still bleeding arm to assess the damage. The cut was deep, but at least it missed any vital arteries. She may be left with a scar, but at least she wouldn't bleed out.

Remembering Sydney's earlier solution to her head injury, Cade ripped off the bottom of her shirt and used it to bandage her bloody wound. But she quickly noticed something was wrong.

"Where's my charm bracelet?" Cade's heart clenched, and she frantically searched the ground around her. Her cherished bracelet was nowhere in sight. She felt naked without it on her wrist. An unfortunate thought popped up in her head. She peered over the edge she had just tried so hard to climb over. A glimmer flashed in her peripheral and caught her attention. She focused on the source of the flicker of light.

The bone that she had injured her arm on was still jutting out over the depthless chasm, and her bracelet was dangling from the end of it.

Liam blew out a low whistle. "There's no getting that back. You'd die trying to get it. At least it was only a bracelet."

"Only a bracelet..." Cade's words were hollow sounding. That charm bracelet meant everything to her. It was one of the few things she had left to remind her of her parents. She needed it in her life, and yet she knew Liam was right. It'd be a suicide mission to retrieve it from its precarious location.

Her heart shattered inside her chest. She had worn that bracelet every day since her mother had given it to her. Now she would never wear it again.

* * *

The memory Sydney tilted her head, allowing her neck to pop. She analyzed the opponent standing in front of her. Only ten minutes into the fight and her opponent already had a bloody nose and was walking with a limp. She hadn't put up much of a fight compared to the other adversaries Sydney usually went up against. This poor girl was probably just here to earn a quick buck or two and entering an underground fighting competition was better than selling yourself on the street.

Sydney spat out blood, hoping no one in the audience would notice that it was green. She was supposed to be Sasha Kila, mortal champion fighter, not Sydney Tempus, immortal time goddess. Her wig was on so tight, it was starting to hurt. Despite the other girl's scrappy fighting skills, she had managed to land a punch early in the fight.

The two girls deliberately circled each other, calculating their next move. Sydney could feel the tension in the air. The audience was growing restless. They demanded entertainment. They demanded blood.

Sydney made the quick decision to end the fight. She screamed, surprising the other girl and throwing her off balance. Sydney charged forward, shouldering her opponent into the cage wall.

The girl cried out in pain and begged to end the fight. Too bad that wasn't how fights worked here. The fight ended when one contestant was knocked out or killed. They tried to discourage the latter. Still, _accidents_ happened.

Sydney elbowed the girl in the side of her head. She yelled in response and tried to lash back. Sydney easily dodged it and jumped backwards. Her foe ran forward, just like Sydney hoped she would. She swiftly sidestepped her attack and used the girl's momentum against her. With a swift roundhouse kick to the head, the girl fell down. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped over, unconscious.

The audience erupted into cheers. The manager of the fight ring reached his arm down into the pit to help Sydney get out. He tried to hand her a stack of cash as well, but Sydney merely pushed it away.

"Give it to her." She pointed over her shoulder at the still unconscious girl in the fighting pit. "She needs it more than I do."

And it was true. Sydney didn't come here for money. Entering small fighting competitions like this gave her a chance to let out her frustrations and squash any of those dark urges that sometimes popped up. There was a pleasant freedom in doing it. Anyone who entered was there by choice and knew the consequences. Most importantly, Sydney was there by choice. This wasn't one of the many competitions Nicole liked to throw her in. She was here willingly and that felt good.

Sydney walked out into the cool night air. The night sky was filled with the cosmos and even the occasional shooting star. Stelluna was a beautiful place. It was a shame it had been taken over by bandits years ago and now served as the time-space continuum's black market and home of other illegal and underground activities.

She had just found a dark alley where she could warp to Draylon unnoticed, when a deep voice spoke up behind her.

"Great fight back there."

Sydney inwardly groaned. Most of the people who went to the fights were just there to bet and enjoy a good fight. They rarely bothered her, but occasionally she would pick up a fan or two and would have to shoo them away.

Sydney turned to face the newcomer. Her heart stopped as she took in the boy's appearance. In all honestly, he was the most attractive boy she had seen in her life. She reminded herself to breathe and mentally slapped herself.

 _It's a just a boy_ , she scolded herself. _No need to start hyperventilating. Maintain your focus._

He looked to be about her age, sixteen, and was smiling with flawlessly straight and white teeth, like they were old friends. He had thick, gelled-up dark brown hair with bits of blonde in it and coffee-brown eyes that glinted with amusement. His face was made of sharp angles and high cheekbones, and was lined with perfectly sculpted and trimmed facial hair. Sydney didn't even like facial hair, but on him it looked irresistibly sexy.

Sydney managed to compose herself enough to speak like a normal person. "Thanks. Can I help you?"

The boy's grin widened and he closed the distance between them. "The name's Jordan, and do I have a deal for you." He stuck his bronzed hand out, eager to shake her hand.

Sydney let it stay there, not trusting herself to stay calm if she touched him. She could feel the warmth his body was radiating from here. She crossed her arms instead. She knew all too well how these 'deals' went. "Let me guess, you want to create a partnership. You promote me, raise the bets in my favor, and then split the winnings fifty-fifty."

Jordan laughed, dropping his arm. Even his laughter sounded sexy and perfect to Sydney's ears. "I have no desire for money, and I know you don't need it either."

"Then what are you here for?" Sydney frowned at him, assuming that if he wasn't here for money, he was probably here for sex. The thought was somewhat appealing to her.

 _Calm down_ , she thought to herself. _He's just a boy, albeit a very sexy and attractive boy, but you can't drop your defenses just yet._

"Let me cut to the chase." Jordan stepped forward. "I know a time goddess when I see one. This disguise you're wearing is impressive, I'll give you that, but you can't do anything to hide that magical blood of yours. You should be more careful next time. I may not be the only one who notices. However, if you don't accept my deal, I'm sure the manager would love to find out you've been illegally competing."

Sydney tensed up and stepped back, ready for a fight. Jordan was apparently highly perceptive. _Which means he's been watching you all night_ , she couldn't stop the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"Alright you caught me. You still haven't told me what this deal is."

"Simple really." Jordan shrugged and folded his hands behind his back. "I need your blood."

Sydney had him pinned up against the wall in an instant. "Never."

Blood thieves weren't uncommon. They were people who wanted the blood of the gods for themselves. Given high enough concentrations, they could make the user immortal. Needless to say, blood was in high demand and plenty of greedy people would do anything to get their hands on it.

Being this close to Jordan was doing nothing to calm her hormones. His cologne was intoxicating and his body was so warm, Sydney wanted to curl up next to him and sleep for a thousand years. His muscles were firm and the image of them holding Sydney in a loving embrace flashed in her mind. She shook her head. _He just admitted to being a blood thief, and you're still swooning over him?_

Jordan only laughed again. "I like you. You've got spirit. You didn't even let me finish explaining my deal."

"I don't need to." Sydney threw him on the ground and immediately hated herself for it. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to love that body, not hurt it. "My answer is no. I don't care how badly your buyer wants my blood. They can't have it. They'll just have to accept their inevitable death like everybody else." She raised her foot to stomp it in his face.

"Buyer? No, no, no. I'm not giving this to anyone who wants to be immortal. It goes to hospitals." Jordan held up his hands to protect his face.

Sydney stopped her foot. "Hospitals?"

"Yes." Jordan eyed her foot warily. "Not everyone is fortunate enough to have perfect immunity. A lot of people out there really need some help. And the smallest injection of your blood can do that."

Sydney put her foot back down. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I can show you!" Jordan bounced back up surprisingly quick considering the near-beating he just experienced. "Use some of that warping magic of yours and I can prove to you I'm telling the truth. Once you see that, all I need is a small vial full of your blood and you'll never see me again. That is, unless you want to, which you probably will." Jordan winked at her.

Sydney rolled her eyes. She probably shouldn't have trusted him so easily, but she had enough faith in her fighting skills that she knew she could defend herself if this turned out to be a lie. "Doubtful. And if you're wrong and this is a trick, I will hurt you." Sydney clenched her fists. "And I can't guarantee you'll ever walk again."

"That won't be necessary." Jordan grinned. "I think you and I will be seeing each other a lot more in the future."

Sydney scoffed, but the idea made her heart flutter. "Just tell me where this hospital is."


	20. Powerless

**20\. Powerless**

It was becoming harder and harder for Joe to convince himself that everything he was seeing was a memory. It all felt too real. But he had to urge himself to focus on the fact that it was all basically one big illusion. Especially now given the sight before him.

"Jordan..." Sydney giggled. "Stop it." Though the way she spoke clearly suggested she did not want him to stop.

"You know you like it," Jordan teased in his strange, implacable accent. He continued to shift around on top of her, his head occasionally dropping down to nip at her neck. They had a thin sheet on top of them, which Joe was very grateful for. He had no desire to know what was going on underneath that sheet. Though judging by the sighs and moans he could he hear, he had a pretty good idea.

They were lying on a mattress in the corner of small one room house. The floor was wooden and worn. The lone window was covered up with black fabric and the door was latched shut with several locks. The walls were bare, making it obvious this was not a permanent residence.

Joe shut his eyes and turned away. Sydney technically wasn't cheating on him, but it stung like she was. How much time had passed between this memory and the last one? The last thing Joe saw, these two had settled on an uneasy alliance. Their relationship had obviously progressed beyond that.

"Besides," Jordan went on, "when I do that, you don't even notice the needle." He slipped his hand out from under the covers and held up a small vial of glowing green blood. "See? All done. And you didn't feel a thing."

"Oh, I felt a lot of things. I just didn't feel the needle." Sydney winked at him.

Jordan chuckled and rolled over to lay next to her. He put his arm under her back and pulled her close to him. "You'd get to feel a lot more if you ran away with me already."

"Jordan, you know I can't do that. I have way too many obligations at Draylon." Sydney shifted so that she was laying on her side and looked into Jordan's coffee coloured eyes.

"But you want to." Jordan brushed her bangs away from her face. It was odd for Joe to see it scar free. He'd gotten so used to the token from her battle with Kerk. "You can still see your friends. You'd just be living a new life with me. We could both have better lives than what we have now. Happy ones."

"I don't deserve happiness," Sydney mumbled, casting her eyes downward. "Why should I get to live a happy life when I've taken it away from so many others?"

"Don't talk like that." Jordan tilted her chin up so he could gaze into her eyes. "You may have done some dark things in the past, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve a bright future. What about all the stuff you've done to make up for those bad things? All those secret missions you set yourself on to help others. Even letting me take your blood. This helps a lot of people."

"Then take more." Sydney thrust her arm forward, practically begging him to take more blood.

Jordan shook his head with a soft chuckle. "You and I both know you don't regenerate blood that quickly. If I draw too much, you'll die, and you won't be able to help anyone then."

Joe felt a sharp pang of jealousy shoot through him. Jordan had no right to touch his wife like that or touch her at all. And the way Sydney was gazing at him in return wasn't helping. That was how she was supposed to look at Joe, not Jordan.

Jordan shifted, causing the sheet to fall back, and revealing that he was wearing a black shirt, which made Joe feel a little better. At least they weren't completely naked under that sheet. He could convince himself that they were only making out, and nothing more.

"I would love to run away with you, but where would we go?" Sydney gestured around the tiny room. "Just stay in this little shack for the rest of our lives?"

"Of course not, I have plenty of getaway houses. Most of which are a lot nicer than this place. It all depends on which hospital I'm working out of at the time." Jordan softly gave Sydney a kiss. "I promise I could give you the life you deserve."

"Someday." Sydney smiled at him. "I can't stay at Draylon forever. I won't let myself."

"What do you mean?" Jordan slowly began to trace circles on Sydney's shoulder.

Sydney let out a content sigh and snuggled closer to Jordan. "I don't want to end up like the other gods. They've all been around too long. They haven't become cruel, but they're all so apathetic. We've had so many trials where all they see is facts and statistics, which I guess has its advantages, but I can't help but see these suspects as people with emotions and families. I can't sentence a man to a life in prison for trying to prevent the death of his wife. That's just not fair."

"Well, whenever you decide you're ready to leave, I'll be here. In the meantime," Jordan smirked and rolled over on top of her, "just lie back and let me take away all your worries."

Joe groaned and looked away. This was the last thing he wanted to see. What was so significant about this memory anyway? All the others had shown some key moment from Sydney's past. This moment didn't seem that special.

"What's that?" Joe heard Sydney say.

Joe risked a peek at the scene before him and was glad that the sheet was back in place.

"Hmm?" Jordan murmured, more focused on Sydney's body rather than her words. "Probably nothing."

"No, Jordan stop. What's on your back?"

"My-" Jordan instantly sat up. He snatched his shirt, which had been discarded in the heat of the moment, off of the floor. "It's nothing."

He leaned away from Sydney revealing his perfectly sculpted muscles and bronzed skin. Joe had never hated anyone more in his entire life.

"Clearly not." Sydney grabbed his shirt before he could put it on.

Jordan ran a hand through his thick, bronzed hair. "I swear I was going to tell you eventually. I just wanted you to get to know me first. I've done my best to cover it up, but I must have forgotten to do it today."

"Jordan..." Sydney gave him an uneasy look. "What is it? And why did you wait a year into our relationship to tell me?"

"Please don't freak out or do anything irrational." Jordan cautiously turned around, exposing his back to Sydney.

Sydney had a sharp intake of breath that was matched with Joe's own. On the upper left corner of Jordan's back was a glowing Egyptian eye. It was identical to the one on Joe's chest.

"I'm a Warp Wizard."

In the blink of an eye, Sydney's reflexes kicked in. She threw Jordan off of the mattress and pinned him against the wall, her forearm pushing against his neck.

"What the hell?!" Sydney spat in his face.

"Remember what I said about not doing anything irrational? This is what I meant," Jordan gasped out.

"You lied to me!" Sydney shoved him harder into the wall.

Jordan yelped in pain. "Technically, I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you everything about me. I know there's a feud between our people. That's why I didn't tell you. You would have killed me instantly!"

"And why shouldn't I kill you now?" Sydney held up her palm and it flared to life with a dangerous concentration of time energy.

"Because you love me? The past year couldn't have meant nothing to you! I meant everything I said about running away together. I'm not with the Warp Wizards anymore! That's why I live in a place like this! You can't kill me. Aren't I special to you?"

"No," Sydney growled. "Was any of the blood stuff true? You probably weren't even taking it to hospitals, just hoarding it for you and your wretched Warp Wizard companions!"

"What are you talking about? You know I give your blood to hospitals and infirmaries. I showed you them! You're letting what you think you know about Warp Wizards cloud you're judgement."

Sydney sneered at him and pulled back to attack.

"Wait! Wait!" Jordan flailed his arms and legs. "We can work together to find out the truth behind the Warp Wizards!"

Sydney halted, her hand dangerously close to his face. "The truth?"

"Yeah," Jordan eagerly nodded his head, euphoric that she had stopped her assault. "Don't you think it's weird how Isis, a goddess who has no control over time, gifted time magic to mortals? Doesn't that seem suspicious to you at all? There's a lot more to the story than what we've been told and I'm determined to find out the truth. I was hoping you would help me."

"Too bad." Sydney's eyes started to glow bright green.

"Please! Don't kill me. I love you, Sydney. You know I do. We could make it our mission to end this war between the time gods and Warp Wizards once and for all. Then we can have the happily ever after we both want."

Sydney barked out a harsh laugh. "Mission? My mission is to seek and destroy the enemy. And you are the enemy."

"But if you kill me, our people will be back at full-out war! No one will benefit from that!" Jordan desperately tried to escape.

"Not if they don't find your body." Sydney sneered, as if she found joy in the idea.

"What do you mean?" Jordan stilled, pure terror displayed on his face.

Sydney discarded the green orb in her palm and stared at the floor. "I take back what I said about you not being special to me."

"You do?" Jordan began to look hopeful.

"Mhmm. You will be the first person I kill that I won't have to feel guilty about enjoying it." She glared at Jordan, revealing solid black eyes. The shadows in the room drew close and danced around her feet.

"Sydney, no. Wait!"

Sydney placed her hand over Jordan's heart. " _Subsisto_."

Time stopped around Jordan's heart, his last breath escaped his lips, and his body slumped to the floor.

Sydney cackled, a wide grin spreading out over her face. She nudged Jordan's slack head with her foot. "Oh Jordan, you had so much potential."

Green mist gathered around them and they were gone in a flash of light.

Joe felt as though Sydney had stopped his heart too. His mind raced with a million thoughts. Could that have been Joe back in After Time if Skyler hadn't been there to stop Sydney from attacking him? She killed Jordan without a second thought... and she had enjoyed doing it.

Joe was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the scene had changed.

Joe now stood in a long hallway surrounded by stone walls. Sydney was in front of him, walking down the hall. For a moment, Joe thought that the memories were repeating themselves and he was about to witness her Warp Wizard torture again. (He would have to a word with Isis about that event.) But the thought was quickly dispelled when he realized Sydney turned a corner and entered a new room.

The first thing Joe noticed about the room was its size. You could several football fields inn here and still have room to spare. The walls were made of solid steel and gleamed from the bright lights hanging from the ceiling. The balcony they were standing on hung fifty feet over the floor.

Sydney stood in front of a wide desk with a control panel placed into the top. Her fingers jabbed at the buttons and touch screen. The landscape of the room altered with each motion.

The amount of aggression Sydney was using on the control pane told Joe something was wrong. How much time had passed between this memory and the last? On instinct, Joe wanted to reach out and sooth whatever was troubling her. But he might as well have been a ghost. There was nothing he could do but watch.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Joe jumped at the sudden voice and turned his head to see who had spoken. Skyler stood in the doorway with crossed arms and an angry scowl on his face. Skyler was usually a carefree person. Joe could count on one hand the amount of times he had seen or heard Skyler be angry.

"Throwing a party," Sydney responded sarcastically without looking over her shoulder. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're about to do something stupid. Incredibly stupid." Skyler stalked out of the entrance and over toward Sydney. He placed his hand on her shoulder and forced her to turn around and face him. "Think this through. Do you really want to be doing this in your condition?" His eyes darted down to her stomach.

Sydney smacked Skyler's hand away and focused on the controls again. "If this stupid baby can't deal with a little exercise, then it's no child of mine."

"Do you even hear yourself right now? Syd, if you get hurt out there, you _will_ hurt your unborn child."

"Then I guess I'll just have to do my best to not get hurt." With one final sweep of her finger across the touch screen, Sydney started the simulation, and the room came to life.

Pillars rose out of the ground like rockets shooting off into space. Barriers and walls popped up between the gaps, creating a maze and obstacles. Fire spread down the tops of some of the walls, leaving only small gaps to jump through. Several people shaped targets popped up around the room from the ceiling to the floor far below. In a matter of seconds, the room had become a battle training ground.

All the lights in the room shut off. If it weren't for the green glow emitting from Sydney's body, Joe wouldn't have been able to see a thing. The glow was curious to Joe. In all the times he had seen Sydney use her goddess powers, she never glowed like this. Her eyes turned green and if she was using a lot of power, her veins traced bright green as well. But her whole body? What was she about to do?

Skyler grabbed Sydney's hand before she could step out onto the beginning platform. "Syd, think about this. Should you really be going full time goddess mode right now? That can't be good for-"

"I don't care!" Sydney snapped and cut him off. "I didn't ask for this! I don't want to be a mother I don't want to have this stupid child!" Sydney paused to catch her breath. "I need to vent, and I'm going to do that by obliterating those targets. If I go into time form in the process, then so be it."

The glower she gave Skyler would have made even the strongest of men run away screaming. Skyler merely tightened his grip on her. "I can't let you do this. You're angry, I get that, but you're also being irrational. Think with your head, not your heart."

Sydney snatched her hand back. The green glow around her turned black. "You sound like my mother."

"Maybe she's right."

Sydney growled, an eerie black shadow appearing in her hand. "If you want to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you stop talking."

"No." Skyler matched Sydney's steely gaze.

"Suit yourself," Sydney's voice took on a dark undertone. She raise her shadowy fist and struck out at Skyler.

He barely had time to jump out of the way before the shot hit him. It tore into his shoulder, and he fell to the ground with a scream, clutching his wound as blood poured out onto the floor.

Something clicked in Sydney's eyes. The dark glow around her faded. She dropped to her knees, letting out a string of Latin swears. "Sky! Oh gods... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean... We need to get you to the infirmary now." She helped him to his feet and let him out of the room. They went as fast as they could go with Skyler's injury.

Everything happened so quickly, Joe didn't have any time to process what he was seeing. Sydney was pregnant, that much he could tell. If she was still at Draylon, then that mean she was pregnant with JJ.

Joe's stomach flipped upside down. Ever since he had learned of JJ's existence and met him in After Time, he had barely seen or heard from his son. Sydney had done her best to inform Joe of what JJ was like and all the important moments in his life, but it wasn't the same as actually being there with him. Joe wanted to be a good father, but it was hard when JJ lived in a different dimension and had no way to communicate with them. He stared at the memory Sydney's stomach in earnest, noticing the slight protrusion.

Sydney and Skyler finally managed to make it to the infirmary and were rushed to a room. Sydney paced back and forth nervously while furiously scratching at her wrists. Joe could see small trails of blood sliding down her arm, and he cringed. he hated seeing her like this with nothing he could do to stop it. After about an hour, Skyler was completely patched up, and Sydney was by his side in an instant.

"Please don't hate me. I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear! I- I don't know what came over me. Are you going to be okay?" Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

"I'll be fine. I know you didn't mean it. You weren't you." Skyler turned away, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Sydney stared at his bandaged and stitched up wound. "I'm not keeping it."

"Not keeping what?" Skyler asked, confused.

"The baby. I can't be a mother. Look at me. I'm a mess. I nearly killed you!" Sydney placed her hands over her stomach, as if she could just pull the baby out.

"Syd, if you don't have a child, you can't leave Draylon. One slip-up is no reason to-"

"This happens all the time! I'm a monster, Skyler. These hands were made to kill, not love." Sydney returned to clawing her wrists. "I am powerless when it comes to controlling who I really am."

"How does Joe make you feel?"

Sydney blinked twice before Skyler's out-of-the-blue question fully registered. "What does Joe have to do with any of this? He doesn't even know I'm pregnant."

"Just answer the question."

Sydney sighed and raised her shoulders in a shrug. "Happy. Safe. Hopeful." A soft smile came to her lips. "Loved."

"Nothing like the way you feel when you have one of your dark break-downs?"

"Definitely not."

"Then do you really think that the solution to all this is to prevent yourself from ever being with him again? Because that's exactly what will happen if you don't keep the baby." Skyler offered her a sympathetic look. "And you need to tell him about the pregnancy. Anna's trial is not for another two days. After that, you know they'll be asked to leave."

"He's not even sixteen yet. I'm not going to take his life away from him with an unwanted child. Maybe I'll keep it, maybe I won't. Even if I get to leave Draylon and be with Joe, how do I know something like what I just did to you won't happen again? This evil is a part of who I am, not just some cold that will fade away in a day or two."

"I think you already answered that question." With a groan, Skyler pushed himself out of the hospital bed and stood on shaky legs. "Come on, we should leave. Don't you have a birthday party to plan?"

Before Joe had time to process anything, he felt himself being pulled away. Out of Sydney's memories and into an entirely new dream all of his own.

* * *

 **A/N - I'll try to update twice this week since I didn't update last week. Please review!**


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